Red Vetyver
by Montale

A vetiver I can wear.

I am one of the unfortunate people on whom Guerlain Vetiver turns into bug spray, so I am constantly in search of a vetiver I can wear. Red Vetiver is the first fragrance I have found that lets me have moist and earthy vetiver along with a smile.

I can’t smell the grapefruit in Red Vetiver. Instead, I smell a combination of wetness, sweetness, and bitterness that reminds me of green capsicum. In conjunction with the wet and earthy vetiver this makes for a lush smell.

The pepper adds an enjoyable dose of heat to Red Vetiver, and the contrast between the heat and wetness stops the fragrance from becoming too linear.

The dry down of Red Vetiver brings cedar and patchouli into play. The cedar has an extra note to it, which reminds me of oak moss, and the patchouli turns slightly chocolaty (like in Patchouli Leaves). The patchouli plus the remains of the pepper reminds me of a chilli truffle.

Red Vetiver has the shortest life on my skin of any Montale I have tried so far: after six hours it becomes a skin scent without obvious projection.

Red Vetiver is not a great Montale, but it is a nice vetiver.

From the very first sniff, I really loved this one.

Why? Because it smells like a cross between Ormonde Jayne’s Isfarkand pour Homme (in terms of the citrus, pepper and vetiver combo) and Hermes' Vetiver Tonka (in terms of the richness and depth of the Haitian vetiver and vanilla used). Its sillage and longevity are initially deceptive – the scent seems quite soft at first but is just as potent as, say, Black Aoud. However, I could easily smell traces of Red Vetyver on my coat days later.

Where Vetiver Tonka was too soft on my skin (before turning) and Isfarkand pour Homme’s (rather weak) drydown had too much emphasis on cedar, Red Vetyver combines their strengths while successfully satisfying to the core. It really is an impressive creation that I hope never to grow tired of. In addition, it’s slightly cheaper than the other two to acquire.

Red Vetyver is now among my top three favourite non-aoud releases by Montale (with Blue Amber and Sweet Oriental Dream being the other two). Also, due to the creamy fullness of the Haitian vetiver, this can easily be worn all year round.

Absolutely stunning!

******

If you’re interested in purchasing any Montale fragrances, please consider our highly-respected Basenotes member, maisonstinky, as your first point of contact. He offers an exceptional service, competitive prices and special offers to fellow Basenoters. For further details, please cut and paste the link below:

http://www.basenotes.net/specials/montale.html

[Original submission date: 28 September 2008]

Montale Red Vetyver

Pierre Montale has made a name for himself with the extensive Aoud based line of scents he has designed for Montale. As much as I like and admire those, my two favorite Montales are non-aoud scents Blue Amber and the 2008 release Red Vetyver. Red Vetyver is a complex citrus forward scent and you won't hear me use complex and citrus-forward in the same sentence too often. Red Vetyver bursts to life with a grapefruit that sparkles over a base of vetiver. The razor sharp cut of vetiver in contrast to the citrus is a brilliant beginning. After a while the spicy kick of pepper joins the grapefruit and vetiver and this blend lasts for a good while and adds some heat to the chilly top. Red Vetyver finishes out on a bed of clean cedar and earthy patchouli which is the kind of depth you want a scent like Red Vetyver to close with. Red Vetyver has been unfairly compared to Terre D'Hermes and I think that comparison is because they were both introduced within a year of each other and they both start with such distinctive grapefruit tops. Terre D'Hermes is classic Ellena minimalism at play. Red Vetyver is almost the exact opposite of that and happily so.If you like the Montale Aouds cross over to the non-aoud side of the street and give yourself a chance to be impressed, like me.

The vetiver in this is soft and citrussy vs. the vetiver in des Sables which is bitingly resinous (and lovely). This one has a beautiful mix of soft spice and is just ever so slightly soapy. The longer I have this one on, the more I am convinced that it must be added to my collection. It wears close to the body and seems to last well, going through many stages. Fantastic! Also could be worn well by either a man or a woman. Another winner from Montale!

What a bizarre little beastie this is!

I agree with foetidus that the vetiver is somewhat obscured here, but what I can't get over is the lack of comments on the creamy/almost gourmand notes I keep picking up on in this Montale. (Is that chocolate I pick up on? No, no no . . . vanilla, then? Much more likely.)

The wood and spice/pepper notes are very linear here, much more so even than in the often compared TdH.

A good Montale? Yes. A great Montale? No. The juice is not, IMHO, commensurate with the posh Parisian price tag. Still, a weak thumbs up for quality ingredients, great sillage, awesome longevity and skillful blending.

Red Vetyver is a more natural smelling Terre d'Hermes. I'm wearing both as I type this, gave Red Vetyver a couple full wearings already and it's still quite difficult to tell them apart. It may be my untrained nose, or it may be that they just don't have that much difference between them. Good scent, albeit unoriginal. I give it a tentative thumbs up...