Indonesian Oud opens with just an extremely brief hint of near-transparent unidentifiable citrus before quickly transitioning to its early heart. As the composition enters its heart the citrus completely disappears as the starring Oud enters the picture. The Oud is slightly peppery and very medicinal with traces of supporting earthy patchouli and airy light rose never overshadowing it. During the late dry-down the development stays quite linear with the Oud and rose remaining. As time passes the rose gains strength reaching near-parity with the Oud that eschews its earlier potency and medicinal qualities, with relatively dry supporting amber joining the effective co-stars through the finish. Projection is excellent to outstanding, as is longevity at well over 12 hours on skin.
Indonesian Oud was another one of the Zegna private Essenze collection winners sniffed on my recent vacation in Las Vegas at their boutique, taking the "runner up" slot to the masterpiece caliber Javanese Patchouli. During its brief trial on skin there I thought the rose played a more prominent role early, but now having worn the composition a few times the Oud is definitely much more the star than I initially thought and in fact is the focal note for most of the composition's highly linear development. Only relatively late in the dry-down does the rose become more assertive (or maybe its the Oud quieting down, allowing it a more prominent role) with only dry amber adding a new dimension towards the finish. The Oud is near-certainly synthetic, but this classic Oud/Rose/Patch composition is quite well put-together by perfumer Jacques Cavallier, distinguishing itself by keeping the Oud at the fore. One minor item of interest is Zegna mentions in all its literature surrounding the Essenze collection that the compositions all feature Italian bergamot. I suppose the opening citrus could indeed be bergamot derived, but quite frankly it was so brief and transparent that it really was forgettable and superfluous. If this was the same bergamot that played such a major role in the stellar Javanese Patchouli I am dumbfounded... I guess it will have to remain one of the great mysteries... The bottom line is the $195 per 125ml bottle Indonesian Oud represents nothing new, is quite linear and likely features synthetic Oud, but the overall presentation is nicely done with some really amazing performance metrics, earning it a "very good" to "excellent" 3.5 to 4 stars out of 5 and a solid recommendation to all.
