Portos (1980)
by Balenciaga

When ever I try anything from the 80's (or anything for that matter), I attempt to forget where and when I am. Most times I succeed but here I cannot help but be transported back to the 80's. Just like big hair and quirky techno bands, it's the 80's. I love the aromatic spicy opening or Portos and reminds me of Bijan for Men's opening and even the middle bits. But where Bijan's big spiciness dries into a sandalwood, Portos gives you the tired and true mossy leather drydown. Quite typically 80's but not as bold and brash as the others. I wish I had tried this one first before delving into other fragrances for men of this era. I might have liked those more after trying Portos.

The aromatic blast that introduces Balenciaga’s Portos is a dead ringer for Azzaro pour Homme, which means it’s also a textbook example of the 1980s “power scent.” But where Azzaro blooms into a spicy fougere, Portos follows a path of sweetened patchouli, labdanum resin, and leather. Anyone familiar with Hermes Equipage knows this kind of scent: potent yet civilized, craggy yet also somehow comfortable. It’s all men’s clubs and boardrooms, big leather chairs, martinis, and cigars. Portos’s cousins are scents like Antaeus and perhaps even Yatagan, though it’s less nuanced than the first and far less bold and challenging than the latter. That may ultimately be why the other two have survived it – Portos is not the most distinguished or individual member of this clan. I think that the_good_life nails it when he suggests that Portos represents a sort of common denominator of 1980s masculines. That Portos is the Reagan era’s Jedermann of scent could be part of its appeal for many, but I for one prefer quirkier versions of the big-boned leather chypre formula.

Portos (btw: is there also a fragrance called Athos?)is the statistical average of all those 1980s leathery chypres made manifest. All the usual suspects are assembled, from artemisia through geranium and patchouli to the leather, labdanum, castoreum etc. base. This summation, while decent, lacks the distinctiveness that would save it from being a somewhat dated archetype of 1980s men's fragrances. Neither is there the white floral boldness of Maxim's, or the intriguing rose of Leonard, Trussardi or Van Cleef. The construction is unrefined when compared to the true ancestor of them all, Knize Ten. And while Portos is too aridly herbaceous, yet it falls short of the radicalism of the closely related Yatagan, which, while not to everybody's taste (including mine) must be acknowledged as grandiose in its bold and uncompromising stance regarding just such arid herbacity (notice that I am inverting de Charlus/Naed Nitram's judgment of these two). Portos is the average, the mean, as I stated at the outset, and I can't help but subscribe to the popular pejorative connotation of those arithmetically neutral terms when applied to this fragrance.

Balenciaga's crown jewel that shares quite a few notes with Ho Hang and Ho Hang Club but easily outshines both. Put it on your shelf between Jules and Renta Pour Lui, and you won't be disappointed.

An interesting scent. Feels a little dated today, but still wearable. Reminds me of Versace L'homme, but a little spicier. Sad that it has been discontinued, because it is better than the other products for men in the Balenciaga range (at least until Ghesquiere develops a new one). If you can find a bottle, I'd say it's worth it.

Why do they discontinue the great ones? Good lord, what a blast of spices to open this scent! A huge shot of manly, dirty, almost animalic, spices shoots through one's nose. The topnotes remind me a little of Balenciaga Pour Homme, which I guess makes sense. From there, they take two totally different paths. As Portos dries it becomes more animalic, leathier, and oilier. Imagine dirty, manly spices on top of wet, musky, earthy leather, all with an 80s vibe (but without being dated) - that should put you in the ballpark. If "The Godfather" had a signature scent, this would be it. It smells great, projects nicely, lasts a long time, and is unlike anything I've smelled. Holy grail? For some, it just may be!