Vétiver (1981)
by Annick Goutal

It's a shame this fragrance is so hard to find now, because it's the best vetiver fragrance I've ever smelled. People have complained about other vetivers that don't really smell like vetiver, but with AG's, there is no question at all that this is vetiver! Raw, sharp, and earthy best describe this vetiver, which is exactly the way vetiver is supposed to smell. No buried vetiver notes here. The reason I like this vetiver better than all others is its subtle salty feel, which reminds me of inhaling the beautiful salt air near the ocean. Get yourself a bottle of Vetiver now while you still can, spray it all over and just breathe in deeply. You won't regret it.

I just cannot believe this was released in 1981. It is an abstract impressionist scent up there on the same rank as most Duchaufour creations. If you are looking for another vetiver steer clear. If you are a hardcore vetiver fan give it a try with an open mind. The driest, most bitter vetiver and all over fragrance I have ever tried. In a nutshell, the scent of naked tanned skin after a long day lying on the beach, no suntan applied. There is a late afternoon, late summer feel to it. Something that is going away, fleeting, reminiscent. Unique!

I liked the semi-seaweed of CdG's Vettiveru ( 2002 ) but I must admit that the ozonic cognac iodine and unabashed full-on seaweed of this older vintage brought a much broader smile to my face. A nice change of pace and eminently wearable for the summer.
Pass the salt, please.

Oh how I wanted to like this. I smelled it at the AG store in Paris and my wife, who normally dislikes fragrances, liked it. I love good vetiver frags and had high hopes. On me, this is a weird scent, in which the vetiver is overpowered by a strong marine scent of iodine and tobacco and vanilla. In fact, a friend was wearing a cologne that smelled exactly like this and it turned out be Tom Ford's tobacco vanilla frag. This is an acquired taste that smells like no other frag out there--except for Tom Ford's.

I'm firmly in the LOVE camp with this vetiver from Annick Goutal; it was purchased unsniffed and some of the reviews here lead me to fear it would be too weird or marine but it isn't. This scent is exactly what I wanted Olivier Durbano's Jade to be: a smooth clean green scent for day/work somewhere between grassy and watery. This one has enough spice and salt to keep it from being boring, but it doesn't go so far as to smell of medicine (like Jade does on me)!

Actually I find this Vetiver quite elegant and refined. It is toward warm yet it hovers between warm and cool, a not too sweet salt-water taffy of a vetiver. The dry down reminds me somewhat of Andy Tauer's L'air du désert marocain. I'm a woman and wear this with ease. My husband and dogs seem to love it too so it's an all around winner!

Rather a nice Javanese vetiver note, with all the round sweetness that entails, some nice backnose citrus and a rather odd salty aquatic undertone. This "seaweed" accord seems to me to be made from a combination of salty iodine and an ozonic note. The ozonic/vetiver is a strange combination which Vetiver Extrodinaire by Malle has realised rather better with its monstrous vetiver note and supporting cast including a much more subdued ozonic, though the vetiver here is more wearable in a conventional sense.

Quite compelling in a strange way but I can't help feeling it would have been better if the sea had been avoided altogether and the lovely sweet/savoury Vetiver allowed to shine unaccompanied.