DEEP PURPLE 2024 • rare terroir black fruit and vanilla wild Oud • Mondulkiri province, Cambodia
(100% wild artisanal Oud oil, authentic wild natural agarwood essential oil)
• production: Distilled in June 2024 by a trusted artisan partner-distiller from a few fully mature Aquilaria trees growing together deep in the forest covered hills of Mondulkiri province, Cambodia. Copper still with glass collector.
• terroir: Mondulkiri province in Cambodia is famous for pepper, cacao, and other spice production and has its own special wild honey designation that is internationally recognized. This is the first time that we have encountered Agarwood trees or Oud oil from this region, and we are especially pleased with the unique features of this exquisite Oud.
• scent highlights: grape, blueberry, palm sugar, fresh black pipe tobacco, vanilla pod, luxury hardwood.
• scent description: Right from the bottle the smooth delicious opening notes include finest smooth aged dark rum, fresh black pipe tobacco (without smoke), fresh palm sugar, and rubbed vanilla pod. On your skin the promised purple theme jubilantly emerges; offering intense grape and blueberry notes, grape jam, vintage port wine, blueberry pie, black fig, overripe black cherry, more vanilla, mixed berry strudel, cherry pie, butter melting in a hot pan, overripe strawberry, grenadine, syrup of cassis… Grape, blueberry, vanilla, and dark pipe tobacco form the leitmotif here, meandering through the top and heart of this sultry and sublime Oud oil. Deeper into the heart there is a luxury hardwood aspect that becomes more prominent; not antique wood; but notice newly cut and finished mahogany, rosewood, and ebony providing a deep and dignified sanctum in which the other notes can settle and luxuriate. You might also notice a very light aura of very well cooked sweet brown dessert spices in the background, like baked goods with a touch of cinnamon, cassia, and nutmeg. But this spicy aspect is light and never dominates. Deep into the dry-down theres a silky smooth palm sugar and luxury hardwood finish with a smudge of vanilla pod still lingering. A sparkle of grape must (wine must) or port wine sediment offers a refined connoisseurs touchpoint in the tenacious, but somewhat more dry and linear, final hours of wear. The thematic notes of this purple paragon will not suddenly evaporate, leaving you with a faltering finish of more common Oud notes; impressively the key notes remain present and quite dominant through most of the dry-down.
(Notably absent or very minimally present, are the apple and sweet brown spice notes which are almost ubiquitous in Oud oils from the more famous western Cambodian Oud terroirs such as Pursat and Koh Kong. This oil is especially notable due in part to the absence of these classic Cambodian notes, and the particular intensity and richness of the purple and black fruit, vanilla, and dark pipe tobacco aspects.)
Ageing beautifully since June 2024, we are excited to see how this oil develops with additional ageing.
• notes of controversy: none. (No barn, no fermented notes, no smoke, no leather)
• species: most likely Aquilaria crassna, but unconfirmed. The special and rare scent profile of this oil is either a result of the unique growing region and/or the unidentified Aquilaria species at work in the scent profile. Sometimes it's simply not possible to be absolutely sure about the species when harvesting wild trees. We look forward to more products from this special terroir so that we can compare notes and get a better sense of it's special attributes.
DEEP PURPLE 2024 • rare terroir black fruit and vanilla wild Oud • Mondulkiri province, Cambodia
(100% wild artisanal Oud oil, authentic wild natural agarwood essential oil)
• production: Distilled in June 2024 by a trusted artisan partner-distiller from a few fully mature Aquilaria trees growing together deep in the forest covered hills of Mondulkiri province, Cambodia. Copper still with glass collector.
• terroir: Mondulkiri province in Cambodia is famous for pepper, cacao, and other spice production and has its own special wild honey designation that is internationally recognized. This is the first time that we have encountered Agarwood trees or Oud oil from this region, and we are especially pleased with the unique features of this exquisite Oud.
• scent highlights: grape, blueberry, palm sugar, fresh black pipe tobacco, vanilla pod, luxury hardwood.
• scent description: Right from the bottle the smooth delicious opening notes include finest smooth aged dark rum, fresh black pipe tobacco (without smoke), fresh palm sugar, and rubbed vanilla pod. On your skin the promised purple theme jubilantly emerges; offering intense grape and blueberry notes, grape jam, vintage port wine, blueberry pie, black fig, overripe black cherry, more vanilla, mixed berry strudel, cherry pie, butter melting in a hot pan, overripe strawberry, grenadine, syrup of cassis… Grape, blueberry, vanilla, and dark pipe tobacco form the leitmotif here, meandering through the top and heart of this sultry and sublime Oud oil. Deeper into the heart there is a luxury hardwood aspect that becomes more prominent; not antique wood; but notice newly cut and finished mahogany, rosewood, and ebony providing a deep and dignified sanctum in which the other notes can settle and luxuriate. You might also notice a very light aura of very well cooked sweet brown dessert spices in the background, like baked goods with a touch of cinnamon, cassia, and nutmeg. But this spicy aspect is light and never dominates. Deep into the dry-down theres a silky smooth palm sugar and luxury hardwood finish with a smudge of vanilla pod still lingering. A sparkle of grape must (wine must) or port wine sediment offers a refined connoisseurs touchpoint in the tenacious, but somewhat more dry and linear, final hours of wear. The thematic notes of this purple paragon will not suddenly evaporate, leaving you with a faltering finish of more common Oud notes; impressively the key notes remain present and quite dominant through most of the dry-down.
(Notably absent or very minimally present, are the apple and sweet brown spice notes which are almost ubiquitous in Oud oils from the more famous western Cambodian Oud terroirs such as Pursat and Koh Kong. This oil is especially notable due in part to the absence of these classic Cambodian notes, and the particular intensity and richness of the purple and black fruit, vanilla, and dark pipe tobacco aspects.)
Ageing beautifully since June 2024, we are excited to see how this oil develops with additional ageing.
• notes of controversy: none. (No barn, no fermented notes, no smoke, no leather)
• species: most likely Aquilaria crassna, but unconfirmed. The special and rare scent profile of this oil is either a result of the unique growing region and/or the unidentified Aquilaria species at work in the scent profile. Sometimes it's simply not possible to be absolutely sure about the species when harvesting wild trees. We look forward to more products from this special terroir so that we can compare notes and get a better sense of it's special attributes.