Lorenzo Henry Jacques Extrait de Parfum

We enter an elevated realm here, the fragrance Elysium of high perfumery, if one believes the self-description of Henry Jacques.

So much has already been written about the price.
Happy are those who can afford these masterpieces.
The others must save vigorously and patiently for it.
But sometimes, little miracles come true.
Just recently.

With a racing heart, I caught sight of the lovingly packaged sample and hardly dared to spray the precious scent.
For that, dear treasure seeker, I thank you sincerely.

Now, how would I, a simpleton, react to such a unique creation?

Quite humbly…

Hiss!

Oh, an extremely rich yet balanced top note.

Although declared in the heart note, an exquisitely captured Ylang-Ylang greets with clear aldehydes.
Golden yellow are the shades of the floral, all full of light.

The use of grapefruit is somewhat peculiar. Slightly sour and fresh, it directs the gaze to the sunny orchard and then quickly bids farewell, which is to be welcomed.
For now, beautiful mirabelles are competing in scent.

I would not have thought that I would like a fruity floral. And that is because the fruit does not smell vulgar synthetic sweet-sticky. Quite the opposite, here the fruits gently waft their aroma into the nose with a fresh breeze.

For the noble orchard is fresh as well.
Images of a beautiful vineyard in Rheinhessen or the Pfalz come to mind.
Surrounded by bright sandstone amidst the vineyards, stone fruits are cultivated in the sheltered area.
Baroque buildings with ochre-colored facades and dark green shutters, the window and door frames made of pink sandstone, peacefully blend into the picture.

Dark green is also the violet leaf in the heart. Finally high-quality and perfectly modulated.
Not a jot too loud, no metallic green distortion. Simply fitting as a bitter green as a counterpoint to the golden yellow mood.

The freshness of the white musk conjures exactly that weather condition back when I wanted to fetch wine in Rheinhessen.
It was a sunny yet pleasantly fresh day with a breeze.
The winemaker smiled, he wanted to serve me a beautiful surprise.
But his little daughter got to me first, beaming like only a child of the sun can, holding the most beautiful treasure in her hands.
A jar of preserved mirabelles, which could only, and truly only, be turned to gold by her grandmother.
I was allowed to taste one of the pearls and was childishly overjoyed again.
But the father poured me a sip of liqueur made from those very pearls.
What should I say?
Not flatly sweet, subtly sweet-sour and full of sunshine.
Unique and precious!

And exactly this mood I have in the first half of the fragrance development.

In the second half, creamy nuances take over, only very lightly vanillic. A hint of wood is also discernible, but not really significant, yet it provides the necessary support.
For the creaminess, although made quite floral dense by the Ylang-Ylang, is saved by the watery magnolia, still supported by the white musk.

I am amazed at the precision with which Henry Cremona - that is the name of the founder and the nose of Henry Jacques - can modulate warm and cool aspects.
On one side, the creaminess stores the concentrated solar power of the Ylang-Ylang and the mirabelles, on the other side, the violet leaf and the white musk cool it down.
Weather caprices masterfully captured in a bottle!

Why on earth did I not give the consistent highest rating?
Well, I might have hoped for - and here the lamenting is decadently at a very high level - perhaps a third part of the fragrance, a conclusion of that mood at the winemaker.
Thus, I remain, mightily enchanted, in the circle of that kind-hearted family and cannot say goodbye.

But perhaps the fragrance only means well with me.

For it gently bids farewell, woody and slightly ambered. But it whispers this, as if it does not want to interrupt the happy mood.