Chocolat Frais Il Profvmo 2006

Normally, I am completely into chocolate: dark, white, delicate, bitter, with something in it or pure, in small pieces or large quantities - it doesn't matter.

With Chocolat Frais, however, my desire for chocolate really fades away at the first sniff. Actually, I expect a wonderfully creamy, not too sweet, ice-cold chocolate note, perhaps with a hint of restrained fruit, due to the name. But the dynamic top note of Chocolat Frais is completely different:

It starts for me with a distinct jumble. In terms of fruits, I can already clearly smell the white peach here, maybe with a hint of apple, but above all, and overwhelmingly, the absinthe note. I didn't really know how absinthe smells beforehand, but the note is so front and center loud that it has now been forever etched into my scent memory. However, where the almond blossom is supposed to be in the top note remains a mystery to me. It has probably been assimilated by the absinthe.

Aside from the fact that I find the combination of the fruity elements of white peach and apple together with the green-bitter note of absinthe, as I said, horridly jumbled, far too loud, and unrefined, I am nonetheless immediately fascinated by the clearly recognizable underlying theme that runs through the entire scent development: the dusty, dark, and somewhat grumpy cocoa bean.

The fruit mix of the top note continues into the heart note and is complemented by a distinctly citrusy carambola, which adds a touch of exoticism to the whole fruit salad but unfortunately also comes off a bit sour. And only after all the fruits have slowly settled down after about 30 minutes does the truly beautiful almond blossom finally emerge, blooming softly in the background. It gently dances around the grumpy cocoa bean, takes it by the hand, and tones it down a bit.

The very dry, dusty cocoa note thus slowly recedes a bit into the background, becomes lighter, and in the further course becomes increasingly powdery and powdered due to the heliotrope from the base. The fruits from the beginning also recede, getting dusted with a little cocoa powder, and gradually the base develops a very warm, soft vanilla undertone. The pleasantly light spiciness of the woods rounds everything off nicely.

What remains is a fine hint of white chocolate.

The sticky and exhausting top note of Chocolat Frais reminds me a bit of the monstrous scent mixture that used to waft over from the chocolate factory around the corner in summer when the wind was just right. I had to barricade and nail shut the window every time. Therefore, Chocolat Frais is definitely not a candidate for purchase for me. Nevertheless, I find the development of the underlying theme from a dusty dark cocoa note to a wonderfully elegant white chocolate praline extremely fascinating.

Therefore, I will definitely test Chocolat Frais again in summer when the wind is just right...