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Madras Cardamom Ermenegildo Zegna 2019

8.0 / 10 79 Ratings

A popular perfume by Ermenegildo Zegna for men, released in 2019. The scent is spicy-woody. It was last marketed by Estēe Lauder Companies.
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Main accords

Spicy

Woody

Oriental

Gourmand

Resinous

Fragrance Notes

Cardamom

Brazilian coffee Ambrox

Ambrox

Pink pepper Vetiver

Vetiver

Virginia cedar

Bergamot

Citrus fruits absolute Vanilla

Vanilla

Perfumer

Marie Salamagne

Ratings

Scent

8.079 Ratings

Longevity

7.572 Ratings

Sillage

6.874 Ratings

Bottle

8.075 Ratings

Value for money

6.222 Ratings

Submitted by Franfan20, last update on 07/19/2025.

Interesting Facts

The fragrance was part of the collection Essenze.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Café V

L'Être Aimé Homme

Cardamom Coffee Perfume

Vanhera

Bois d'Hiver

Reviews

5 in-depth fragrance descriptions

04/23/2019

9.5Scent 9Longevity 9Sillage

Hitchslap
106 Reviews

Hitchslap

Helpful Review 1

Cannot find the words........

Holy Cow, this is so beautiful!

¡Tan bueno!

Such a great start of cardamom/coffee which then morphs into a delicious vanilla combination.

In the background you have bergamot and ambroxan add a stable classy foundation.

I understand other reviewers when they question the validity of the asking price on this Zegna line, for most but not this one.

This fragrance conveys the higher stratum the Zegna clothing line holds in the fashion world.

07/04/2021

8Scent 10Longevity 6Sillage

Drseid
828 Reviews

Drseid

Highly Capable Cardamom...

Madras Cardamom opens with a very brief blast of sharp citrus bergamot that quickly couples with powerful nose tingling warm cardamom spice with a moderately sweet coffee-like accord undertone before transitioning to its heart. As the composition enters its early heart the warm cardamom spice from the open slightly softens, remaining in relative strength as the moderately sweet coffee-like accord gains potency as it becomes co-star, with significant just slightly synthetic smelling polished cedar wood support. During the late dry-down the cedar wood remains, shedding its detectable synthetic qualities, as remnants of the now significantly diminished coffee accord join with soft, non-powdery vanilla that becomes the star through the finish. Projection is good and longevity outstanding at over 20 hours on skin.

During my latest trip to Las Vegas I tried to hit the usual suspects to see if there were any relatively new releases of interest. Most of what I sniffed that was relatively new did not impress enough to merit further attention, but my trip to the Zegna store yielded a number of pleasant new surprises with its generally perpetually impressive private Essenze line, and Madras Cardamom led the pack, earning it a trial on skin for the day.

As soon as you spray Madras Cardamom on skin powerful warm cardamom spice asserts itself big time. It would be all too easy to have the spice get completely out of control, but the perfumer, Marie Salamagne, deftly uses a very unique smelling sweetened coffee-like accord to counter the warm spice without letting the sweetness go too far either. When cedar shows up in support, it first starts off with a bit of a synthetic bent but never in a bad way, only turning more natural smelling as time passes. By the time the perfume reaches its late dry-down the cedar, coffee and now vanilla all combine seamlessly to form an extremely pleasant smelling lengthy finish. It is safe to say that of all the new releases I tried during my Vegas trip Madras Cardamom was the most impressive. That said, I am a bit surprised at how much I love this one, as its semi-gourmand fragrance profile is definitely not a natural fit for my preferences. I can only credit some really good blending techniques by the perfumer to come up with such a winning concoction that won over this sweetness averse writer to even buy a bottle of the stuff. The bottom line is the $250 per 100ml EdP bottle "excellent" 4 stars out of 5 rated Madras Cardamom is a superb example of a semi-gourmand that exudes refinement and class, able to even win over wearers that generally dislike the category, earning it a strong recommendation to all.

03/12/2023

10Scent 6Longevity 6Sillage

Iatik
15 Reviews

Iatik

Better then Intoxicated

You have to love the note of coffee, Cardamom. This is a very uplifting scent which you should spray as soon as you wake up. You get hit my notes of coffee , cardamom , vanilla. This scent will last you good 3 hours then you can move on to the next fragrance for the day.
It's a fragrance coffee & cardamom lovers will thoroughly enjoy. Personally for me its more uplifting then Kilian Intoxicated.
Madras Cardamom is not very sweet its good balance. You can spray it every now and then when you feel the urge to have coffee this can be a good replacement. It's a pity it's discontinued.

11/01/2019

9Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

Leimbacher
2869 Reviews

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Leimbacher

Top Review 25

Kawa-Cardamom-Bungaaa!!!

Cardamom is often used in the olfactory mainstream - delicate and gentle, sweet and pleasing. YSL's bestseller "Nuit de L'Homme" is the best example of this, which owes a lot to cardamom in my opinion. But as in "Madras Cardamom," one has not yet experienced the usually pleasant, yet not always somewhat erotic spice. Especially not me, since I am not a coffee drinker, where it has, I believe, spread quite a bit in hipster fashion in recent years.

"Madras Cardamom" hits you right in the face from the very beginning - you may have never experienced such pure, natural cardamom in your nose before. It takes off well, it is quite aggressive and goes straight forward. Dark and direct. You not only smell the seeds and aromas of the substance, you almost feel them in your olfactory bulb. This feeling is rare, perhaps comparable to Tom Ford's "Tobacco Vanille," which achieves a similar effect. For cardamom lovers, Zegna may have even brought forth the holy grail here. It blows me away (positively). However, after half an hour, it becomes noticeably softer, rounder, and warmer, losing a bit of stability and wow factor. But with perfumes, it is certainly not alone in having a highlight in the top note. Overall, the scent can (more than just) please. "Madras Cardamom" is a spicy-soft roller that you quickly become friends with and that will surely attract some noses. But of course, not everyone likes such a spice cloud, even if it is "just" cardamom. Or perhaps especially cardamom, as people here are naturally much more "thick" with cinnamon or vanilla. One could say that it offers little to nothing besides concentrated cardamom - but it does so in such a powerful, multifaceted, and bold way that you can't complain about it. A scent that has specialized and does its job nearly perfectly. A new benchmark in its relationship. That's quite an achievement.

Bottle: Parts of the bottle are exquisite, while others, like the cheap plastic cap, are cheeky and unnecessary in this price range.
Sillage: Initially striking in all directions, later quickly softer and closer to the body.
Longevity: Quality Baby - 9-12 hours

Conclusion: what a beautiful, hardly sweet cardamom karate chop. Those who appreciate the soft-bitter spice are quite likely to have a new reference. And I do. Extremely good!

03/10/2021

8Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

Sajo
1 Review

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Sajo

A Karak Tea, please!

The scent of Ermenegildo Zegna strongly reminds me of my last stay in Doha. Sunny weather, the beard full of desert dust, one enjoys a Karak tea made from black tea, milk, cardamom, and a pinch of ginger.

Getting into the car in the morning and driving along the beachfront promenade. In the afternoon, going to the mall, in the evening strolling through the old town past the souk, spices fill the air and everywhere you see Karak tea as a constant companion, which has practically become a national drink.

As for the fragrance, strong high-quality cardamom that later becomes milder and blends with coffee. H/S are top. This one is definitely going into my collection :)