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Botrytis Ginestet 2008

7.1 / 10 68 Ratings

A perfume by Ginestet for women, released in 2008. The scent is sweet-gourmand. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Sweet

Gourmand

Fruity

Floral

Spicy

Fragrance Notes

Honey

Honey cake Quince

Quince

White blossoms Amber

Amber

Candied fruits

Ratings

Scent

7.168 Ratings

Longevity

6.644 Ratings

Sillage

5.938 Ratings

Bottle

6.835 Ratings

Submitted by Snowflake · last update on 10/12/2022.

Source-backed & verified

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Reviews

10 in-depth fragrance descriptions

11/06/2014

1Scent

PBullFriend
310 Reviews

PBullFriend

Helpful Review 5

sweet like urine

Isn't it fascinating to see how differently we react to particular perfumes? I got a sample of this one from Luckyscent when it first came out and was so excited to have the smell of honey cake (a celebration smell!) in a perfume.

Unfortunately, I do know how it smells when a man urinates on urban concrete and the urine takes on a nauseating sweetish smell as it dries in the sun. And that's exactly how Botrytis smells to me. This is why I'm so glad that there are several reliable businesses selling samples and decants of perfumes, so I need not buy an expensive bottle of something that reminds me of piss.

02/02/2012

Yourfoxiness
14 Reviews

Yourfoxiness

Helpful Review 3

decadent sweetness!

My goodness! In a word, decadent! I get a smell like fine whiskey sniffing straight out of the bottle, so I was a little apprehensive about this little jewel. Boy, was I mistaken. I get at first, honey, and the dried fruits. After about 20-30 minuites, the white flowers developed which cut the sweetness and lent it elegance and sensuality. It's hard to explain the way this beauty is comforting and sensual at the same time. I about dismissed botrytis as a cloyingly sweet mess, but it is overall a scent of pure excess, and gluttony, well composed. It lasted all day. I applied this morning and it has developed well, I catch a very slight powdery note, but it did not last long. A scent of seductive, sexual sweetness!

03/13/2013

10Scent

Sfonativeboy
18 Reviews

Sfonativeboy

1

Sweet Wine is Heavenly

Sure it's sweet, but this Sauternes is complex
Layer upon layer of honey and exotic fruit, make it a spectacularly complex dessert wine.
YUMMMMM!
isn't that what "SWEET DREAMS ARE MADE OF"

01/25/2017

Mrsg37
32 Reviews

Mrsg37

1

A grower

I'll be honest, I'm not an expert, I just know what I like and am slowly learning all the various notes etc. I am terrible for blind buying ( I know!) and this scent was one of them. At first I didn't get all the hype on Fragrantica, it smelt cheap and I was tempted to wash off! But, I Percivered as I believe that there are no " nasty" fragrances, just different tastes, perceptions and even skin chemistry. This scent morphed into the most ethereal, light honey that was quite enjoyable! It's not in my top 10 but i'm glad to have it in my collection.

07/14/2012

2.5Scent 5Longevity 5Sillage

Ronin
50 Reviews

Translated · Show original

Ronin

Top Review

A Sweet Wine Lacking Balance and Sex Appeal

Botrytis cinerea is a mold that affects grapes on the vine. If the grapes are sufficiently ripe and the weather cooperates (morning fog, otherwise dry), this mold infestation is quite desirable and is referred to as noble rot. Under these conditions, the mold very finely perforates the berry skins. This allows water to evaporate without juice leaking out or the berries swelling in light rain. As a result of the evaporation of water, the remaining components, especially sugar, become concentrated. Furthermore, the aroma of the grapes changes, with a botrytis note enhancing the scent and taste.
These grapes contain so much sugar that the juice cannot fully ferment. Thus, sweet wines are produced from such grapes, golden, viscous elixirs. Very sweet, with aromas of honey and quince. The botrytis note adds bitter components to the bouquet and taste, which slightly veer into a moldy scent and remind me very distinctly of adhesive bandages. This may sound unappetizing, but it is essential for the harmony of the wines: it is the interplay of sweet and bitter on the nose and palate that makes the wine exciting and multifaceted, creating a desire for more than just one sip. Without the counterbalance of the botrytis note, the wine would simply be cloyingly sweet, flat, and boring.
Examples of such wines include German berry or dried berry selections or the sweet wines from Bordeaux, most famously Sauternes.

The Bordeaux wine house Ginestet has now created the fragrance "Botrytis" in reference to these sweet wines.

Why such a long introduction for a fragrance? Well, as Louce described: this fragrance is sweet. Cloying. Too sweet. Way too sweet. Just sweet. The slightly apricot-like quince-honey accord is wonderful and fitting. But everything that constitutes the harmony and tension of a botrytis sweet wine is missing.
It would have been easy to compensate for this deficiency: Oud, for example, is produced by mold infestation, and the ethereal-bitter aspect and the sometimes slightly musty, moldy note are very reminiscent of the botrytis note. As I learned with "Lui" and "Yellow Sea," castoreum can also provide a counterpoint to overly broad sweetness. Nothing of the sort exists in this fragrance. I don't necessarily want a 1:1 replication of a sweet wine - I prefer to drink that. But the principles that make a wine enjoyable to drink and a perfume enjoyable to wear are, in this case, the same. Surely there are other notes besides the two I mentioned that could provide the bitter counterpoint. However, the ones I mentioned would have the advantage of giving "Botrytis" at least a hint of sex appeal - which would allow me to write about it (comments with corresponding content receive more trophies and "helpful" ratings on Parfumo).

Why didn't Ginestet try to create balance? I can think of only two explanations, and both are not flattering for the house:
1. They are not aware of what constitutes the harmony of a botrytis wine. It either exists or it does not.
2. They do not want to confront their customers with notes that could irritate anyone. If that is their philosophy, then they are also producing smooth, polished safety wines that do not hurt anyone. Wines with which one cannot go wrong. But also nothing right.

In summary, both the blind purchase of perfumes and wines is discouraged.

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