Dammuso
by Profumi di Pantelleria

Dammuso has some serious rubbing alcohol fumes for top notes, only partly tempered by bright grapefruit pulp and something that smells to me like cypress. The blast of alcohol clears within just a few minutes, and what remains is a very sharp, high pitched accord of grapefruit, conifer wood, and dry spices. It’s simple, transparent, and wears relatively close to the skin. The grapefruit is of course the first part of the structure to peel away, followed by the spices. What remains in the drydown is a hard-edged cedar note and some dry vetiver.

For me Dammuso is evocative of dry heat, calling to mind a sun-drenched landscape with nothing taller than scrub to provide shade. In its spare structure and austere texture, it very closely echoes the style of Jean-Claude Elléna, especially as expressed in lean citrus-and-wood compositions like Un Jardin sur la Nil and Terre d’Hermès. Dammuso is neither a better nor a worse scent than either of those, but it certainly costs more, so I can’t honestly recommend it in their stead. If the idea of brisk, realistically rendered grapefruit appeals to you, Guerlain’s Aqua Allegoria Pamplelune gets that job done less expensively, too. I can forgive the unpleasant top notes, since they don’t last very long, but Dammuso would have to distinguish itself more in terms of originality or quality for me to spend $150 US or more on a bottle of it.

13rd December, 2009.