Othoca Acqua di Sardegna 2017

Othoca (Phoenician "old town") refers in particular to an old excavated Phoenician small town on the west coast of Sardinia, which was probably due to the archaeological findings in the 3rd century B.C. port and trading hub. The surrounding sea is symbolized on the bottle by the jagged waves - olfactorily by the timidly salty accents that discreetly assert themselves from the top note onwards.

The opening almost makes Othoca explode. The bergamot remains a little in the background, but thyme and marjoram have an exorbitant appearance here and form the solid foundations, next to the juniper and costus that begin a little later. This is extraordinary, but then also already the fresh, spicy, fruity and floral highlight of this creation.

Afterwards Othoca becomes a little calmer, but marjoram, costus root, juniper and a little lavender give an aura that is not by chance reminiscent of wet modelling clay with a minimal synthetic touch. Personally, I don't find that sexy, but I could agree with one or the other. Nevertheless, I wonder whether this relatively unusual note should reflect the theme of excavation, masonry or necropolis. Who knows ...

Towards the end it comes almost conciliatory powdery to dusty, a little sweetened with ambergris and felt tonka bean, although this is not mentioned at all. So the opening and finals are an appealing twist, but right from the start Othoca has flared off all his surprise fireworks - full and in full panorama. The middle section makes me think, and I'm not quite sure what I should actually think about it. If Othoca was 3/4 of the top note, he would cause much more furore on Parfumo, but the good overall impression fades a bit. I'll give you the 7.5 points in a generous way. If you don't like the wet modelling clay, you can deduct another 2 points for yourself.