A Grove by the Sea by Arquiste

A Grove by the Sea 2024

Kovex
08/24/2024 - 10:00 AM
37
Top Review
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7
Pricing
9
Bottle
7
Sillage
7
Longevity
8.5
Scent

Jewel of the Adriatic

A Grove by the Sea is a tribute to the Croatian island of Lopud in the Adriatic, which was bought by the Republic of Dubrovnik in the 11th century and became the seat of the republic's governor in 1459. Many noble families built their summer estates on the island and until the 17th century the shipping industry and maritime trade flourished on the island, which was home to up to 14,000 people. For a long time it was known as the island of captains, the birthplace of the most famous sailors of the Dubrovnik Republic and the aristocracy of its time.

According to legend, the Milanese crusader Ottotone Visconti was stranded on the island in 1098 and made a vow that if he was rescued, he would build 100 churches on Lopud. This is why numerous chapels, churches and devotional stones can still be admired on the island today. Today, fewer than 300 people live on the small island.

After a devastating earthquake in 1667, many buildings on the island were destroyed and it was never able to regain its former glory, as most of the inhabitants left the island. Left to nature, a wild growth of plants emerged. The entire landscape is an aromatic paradise of green figs, dried pine needles, wild herbs and the subtle, nutty scent of olive oil.

This is exactly where the fragrance A Grove by the Sea comes in, which I only discovered after wearing it several times. At the beginning, I smell the aroma of fig, but not the unsweet, typical leafy green of many fig fragrances, but rounded off with a fruity-sweet component of clementine, which is usually a little sweeter than oranges.

After a few minutes, I find that the fig is accompanied by Mediterranean herbs. Rosemary and thyme seem plausible to me, but Rodrigo Flores-Roux has also changed these in his own way. It's not the smell that you get when you rub the herbs between your fingers, but rather the aroma that is in the air when the sun has been burning the ground for hours and the heat has squeezed the bouquet out of the plants, surrounded by a delicately salty sea breeze that blows in from the coast and reinforces the feeling of standing in the middle of a Mediterranean landscape.

The subliminal scent of green olives is barely discernible here, serving more as a texture to create a bracket around the wild herbs, the fig and the coniferous odeur that gradually emerges. Cypress is the dominant coniferous wood, but the woody notes never come to the fore either, but rather complement the overall impression, which is kept quite green. The clay adds a hint of mineral nuances at best, but A Grove by the Sea certainly does not smell earthy.

Rodrigo Flores-Roux, who has created classics such as Fougère Royale (2010) Eau de Parfum by Houbigant or the wonderful incense fragrance Sahara Noir by Tom Ford, also shows all his skills here, which I have also noticed positively in other fragrances from the Arquiste brand: there are no bold notes that dominate the fragrance. Instead, it is the subtle and delicate interplay of the individual components that creates new scent impressions and images in the mind. The crunching of pine needles underfoot, the sea breeze blowing through the sun-drenched nature and the essential oils of the plants evaporating from the leaves.

Fans of strong sillage and atomic longevity will certainly not get their money's worth here. However, lovers of subtle fragrances who like to be whisked away to foreign places, soak up nature and are in awe of the beauty of our earth will be fully satisfied here. For me, a fragrance that could hardly be more Mediterranean without having to make use of artificial aquatic synthetics, summer feelings included.
38 Comments
PoesiefannyPoesiefanny 11 months ago
1
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Oh, how I love this. I practically inhaled your review! Please take me there, Scotty! Dubrovnik not only has the best mocha - next to Trieste - but also a terrific aroma macchia, I can attest to that from my own experience. Hmmmh ....
KovexKovex 11 months ago
I'll remember that about the mocha 😊. Thank you very much for your visit!
PonticusPonticus 12 months ago
1
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Great history and fragrance review that immediately calls for another vacation! Great!
KovexKovex 12 months ago
Thank you my dear. Perfume can't replace a vacation, but maybe the memory of it πŸ˜‰
LiLaLaLiLaLa 12 months ago
1
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I was on an island in Croatia a few weeks ago. I had a snack of freshly picked figs and the smell of pine trees and salt in the air.
I didn't have this perfume on my radar - now I really want it πŸ˜…
KovexKovex 12 months ago
Maybe it can bring a bit of vacation back. That would be great, of course. Thank you for your visit 😊
MarieposaMarieposa 1 year ago
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I feel enriched and a bit smarter. A pleasure to read!
KovexKovex 1 year ago
1
Thank you very much, that makes me very happy!
InyIny 1 year ago
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Oh, you make it sound so beautiful and exactly how I want it. I'll have to put aside my skepticism and order it from the UK.
KovexKovex 1 year ago
From what I've heard in the meantime, it's probably a matter of luck with customs. Sometimes with and sometimes without...strange. Thanks for your feedback 😊
ScentwolfScentwolf 1 year ago
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Your review is very informative.
I've grown fond of the brand anyway..
KovexKovex 1 year ago
Me too, beautiful bottles and unusual fragrances. What more could you want?
AxiomaticAxiomatic 1 year ago
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Great immersion into the world of Lopud!
Your historical exploration of this island alone has captivated me.
I will certainly enjoy the fragrance as you experience it.
And another beautiful bottle to boot.
Ey ey Captain, Adriatic island ahead!
πŸ†
KovexKovex 1 year ago
1
The simple beauty and quality of the bottles is really a feast for the eyes and very appealing to the touch. It's a good thing that Arquiste's fragrances can always keep up πŸ˜‰. Thank you dear and have a lovely Sunday.
DerailroadedDerailroaded 1 year ago
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That sounds very nice!
KovexKovex 1 year ago
I'm glad, that's how it should be! πŸ˜‰
IntersportIntersport 1 year ago
1
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Thank you for this summer review highlight. I really like landscape books, as long as they have a pinch of abstraction, and this sounds exactly like it to me, Flores-Roux can do atmospheric things - and I know the island, even if it was an idyll about 15 years ago ..
KovexKovex 1 year ago
Flores-Roux was hardly on my radar until I took a closer look at his work. Undoubtedly a master of his craft.
FloydFloyd 1 year ago
1
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Superbly broken down and described. Great review, Captain!
KovexKovex 1 year ago
Thank you my dear! Have a relaxing Sunday!
ErgoproxyErgoproxy 1 year ago
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That sounds pretty relaxed.....
KovexKovex 1 year ago
Yes, relaxed fits. Unobtrusive and unagitated is sometimes just the right thing.
ParmaParma 1 year ago
1
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With your wonderfully precise description, as always, you make me very curious about this fragrance. Thank you very much for this very informative introduction!
KovexKovex 1 year ago
Thank you very much, to have aroused curiosity is always an honor πŸ˜‰
SchatzSucherSchatzSucher 1 year ago
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What our esteemed colleague Yati says... An unparalleled reading festival.
And the fragrance seems to be a feast for the nose. I don't need endless durability and a veil of fragrance from Flensburg to the AllgΓ€u πŸ˜‡
And now I'll read your comment again.
KovexKovex 1 year ago
Thank you dear S., I am very pleased!
NightFighterNightFighter 1 year ago
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The jewel is going on the watch list.
KovexKovex 1 year ago
I'm glad if I was able to achieve that 😊
ElAttarineElAttarine 1 year ago
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Oh, subtle and summer feelings... And such a great description, thank you. Sounds wonderful. I'll add it to my watch list immediately.
KovexKovex 1 year ago
That's where it belongs. Thank you ☺️
YataganYatagan 1 year ago
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This is my idea of a good commentary: exciting background information and a good, comprehensible description of the fragrance notes. Thank you!
KovexKovex 1 year ago
1
Thank you very much my dear, I feel honored!
GandixGandix 1 year ago
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I find the bottle breathtakingly beautiful, and your review also describes the fragrance very seductively. The question for me, of course, is the fig. I don't actually like it, but there are 1 or 2 fragrances where I actually find it beautiful.
KovexKovex 1 year ago
The Arquiste bottles are indeed beautiful due to their simple value and the fig is not very dominant here.
JonasP1JonasP1 1 year ago
1
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With such a nice comment, I forget that I can't really do much with figs in fragrances, but in this combination it sounds appealing...
KovexKovex 1 year ago
1
The fig is holding back here, so it would be worth a try. Thank you 😊
PollitaPollita 1 year ago
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I'm not a fan of atomic sillage and longevity and find this very interesting.
KovexKovex 1 year ago
A very relaxed and unspectacular fragrance, yet not ordinary and therefore quite interesting.