Vie de Château Intense Nicolaï / Parfums de Nicolaï 2008

Vie de Château Intense by Nicolaï / Parfums de Nicolaï

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7.8 / 10 129 Ratings

A popular perfume by Nicolaï / Parfums de Nicolaï for women and men, released in 2008. The scent is spicy-green. The production was apparently discontinued.

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Main accords

Spicy

Green

Chypre

Fresh

Woody

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Tarragon

Bergamot

Grapefruit

Thyme

Heart Notes

Jasmine absolute

Rose

Base Notes

Hay

Oakmoss

Musk

Tobacco

Vetiver

Patchouli

Perfumer

Patricia de Nicolaï

Ratings

Scent

7.8129 Ratings

Longevity

7.8100 Ratings

Sillage

6.6103 Ratings

Bottle

7.390 Ratings

Value for money

6.913 Ratings

Submitted by Chemist, last update on 02/12/2025.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Vie de Chateau

Le Sillage Blanc

Euphoria Men Eau de Toilette

Sì Eau de Parfum

Reviews

5 in-depth fragrance descriptions

07/24/2012

jtd
484 Reviews

jtd

Helpful Review 2

Grimy freshness, the implicit goal of the citrus chypre.

Vie de Chateau Intense tucks neatly into the citrus chypre genre, with connections to Diorella, Eau Sauvage (compare the very first sniff of each side by side!), Moustache and its own sibling Weekend a Deauville. It has that fresh sophistication that citrus chypres tend to have.

VdC’s smart twist, though, is that it has a strong note of hay that ties it directly to the fougère and indirectly to leather chypres. The hay note is a bit nut-like at first, but eventually pulls VdC toward a dry dark, base that is the perfect conclusion to the crisp yet disenchanted spirit of the best citrus chypres.

12/08/2018

9
Sillage 9
Longevity 8.5
Scent

Torfdoen
23 Reviews

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Torfdoen

Top Review 20

Nicolaï makes children happy

A bag of fruit jelly right after opening. The one with the worms. Different colours. Red, green, yellow, orange, blue. Citric, fruity, berry. A tingling mishmash. Nature, especially hay, doesn't remind me of anything here. Grapefruit? I'm in the fruit turmoil somewhere. Tickles a little here and there. Honeydew melon more like it. Flowers? Yeah, sure, if they're fruity. Herbaceous, harsh or green associations don't want to appear. It doesn't matter. My surprise certainly stems from the fact that my sense of smell is largely influenced by the familiar group of green, herbaceous Eichenmoosler and that now, on less familiar terrain, I run across a 'fruity chypre', a combination that is new to me. If I came from the fruit gum direction, the chyprecharakter would notice me surely also more clearly. But the scent meets my taste, so Patricia de Nicolaï must have put in the things that I like.

A cheerful pick-me-up she has succeeded. Light-hearted, warm and with interesting fruit spices that alternate between citrus-fresh and juicy berry nuances. Roses could help refine the fruit sweetener, as could jasmine. Tobacco, oakmoss or herbs are certainly also distributed on the barn floor, which is brightly illuminated by the sun. The hay bales are stacked high on top of each other. A wonderful climbing and playground. But you don't pay attention to all that when you see a bag of fruit jelly that somebody must have prepared as a 'snack'.

Many thanks to the dear Dufttsucht for the sample.

06/20/2021

8
Bottle 7
Sillage 8
Longevity 8
Scent

Serenissima
681 Reviews

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Serenissima

Top Review 14

"Eau de Cheverny"

In 1992, the Vicomte de Sigalas visited the boutique of Patricia de Nicolaï with a special request:
He wished to have his Cherveny castle as a fragrance.
No problem for the experienced perfumer, who is related to the Guerlain family in a maternal line.
She composed for him "Eau de Cheverny", where country air and forest scent meet cut hay.
The viscount was very pleased, but the fragrance had to be given another name:
the local apothecary had claimed that name earlier.
So they agreed on the neutral name: "Eau de Cheverny" was renamed "Vie de Château" - castle life.
According to this fragrance image, the castle is certainly farmed: with forest, field and meadow, orchard and possibly even livestock. Because "Vie de Château Intense" is alive!
I love this feature already with "L'eau à la Folie" particularly.

This was the first fragrance of this impressive woman, who has not only conquered her place in the world of fragrances through her fragrance creations, but has also chaired the "Osmothèque" in Versailles since 2008.
Jean Kerléo, the former perfumer of Patou founded this unique fragrance archive; unique in the world. So far, only one branch has been founded in New York.

Built up like a classic green Chypre, "Vie de Château Intense" is yet very much more: he paints beautiful fragrance pictures.
Right at the beginning the image of the fruit and herb garden, where fresh fruity bergamot and grapefruit, but also spicy thyme and tarragon are found.
And of course, a summer-scented impression of the flower garden with wonderfully fragrant roses and a densely entwined jasmine pavilion may not be missing.
Here the family gathered every afternoon for teatime and in the evening once again before dinner in a larger round with guests, when the aperitif is served.
From here, the view goes far over meadows and fields, up to the forest; where "Vie de Château Intense" reflects this view through a successful blend of oak moss, vetiver and patchouli.
Thus Patricia di Nicolaï picks up the classic chypre base with a sure touch.
But she wants more: from a nearby barn, the so typically late summer aroma of dry hay and dried tobacco leaves blends into this chypre creation.
As in the prelude, it refers once again to the rural character of this fragrance:
There it is the two kitchen herbs, here the new harvest in the barn!

"Vie de Château Intense" is a wonderful fragrance reminiscence of the French countryside.
Wonderfully refreshing, rich and unreservedly suitable for everyday use!

Originally, Patricia di Nicolaï dreamed of offering each of her fragrance creations as a trilogy:
Eau de Cologne, Cologne and Parfum.
So completely she could not realize this dream; by increased regulations her smells had to be adapted and changed several times.

The fragrance name "Vie de Château Intense" already clearly shows that the classic flacon ("clear in form, label and statement" - quote: di Nicolaï) no lightweight fragrance water contains.
Fresh and invigorating from the first moment, this pleasant fragrance accompanies for several hours.
He is present and yet discreet, lively and equally elegant.

Yes, Yatagan already knew what he was bottling for me here. Thank you, my friend!

Finally, a very important statement from Patricia di Nicolaï:
"A perfume that pleases everyone is uninteresting."

10/16/2018

10
Bottle 7
Sillage 7
Longevity 9
Scent

Duftsucht
105 Reviews

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Duftsucht

Top Review 12

Oops, I did it again!

From now on, always blindly souvenir? Yes, that would actually be the consequence I would have to draw from my latest outrage in blind buying (but certainly only this very last time...)! Because if I hadn't struck, I would have missed a very special scent - and that would have been a shame.
But from the beginning: Package arrives and, as always, is opened with this very special mixture of anticipation and a bad conscience - a feeling that creeps up on me when I break the rule I have imposed on myself: FIRST test, then buy, violate.
The first spray of course lands immediately on my wrist and pooh, Wäääh, what is that????? I wrinkle my nose and even consider that the scent could be tilted, so violently a herbaceous top note stings me in the nose. For me it smells like lovage or dill - it is not bitter-green, but a little sweetish. The pyramid reveals: Tarragon and yes, I can believe that too. I take the precaution of taking my nose a little further away from my wrist and HOLLA, what is that? Within practically seconds the fragrance is quite simply spoken: wonderful!
Herbaceous, mossy, green, spicy, a hint of balsamic. For me, however, the component in the middle of the green beauty of the forest is something that I search in vain in the pyramid: sage. And it is bedded in hay: a freshly opened pack of high-quality hay-flower teas, with fresh sage leaves lightly ground in the middle. Vetiver - which I love - and tobacco - which I fear - support the fragrance - the oak moss is very delicate and almost fluffy for my nose. I've never smelled a fragrance with that special hay vetiver tobacco oakmoss note before.
It is an unusual and eye-catching fragrance, but still wearable. It is certainly wonderful for men - but also for women, provided one is not fixated on powdery-sweet.
"For me, "Vie de Château Intense" is a natural fragrance, but not dreamy-soft, but original and blunt. But not harsh or rough, but carried warm by this wonderful hay note. By the way, the scent doesn't even have a daisy in it for me - and I think that's a good thing! Meanwhile, after wearing it three times and spraying it x times in my enthusiasm, I also love the impetuous beginning - and advise all testers not to be deterred by it!

PS: My husband, who rarely comments on fragrances I wear, was VERY taken with and sniffed every time he entered the room. Let's see, maybe I'll share the new sweetheart too.... sometime...

02/12/2025

9
Bottle 7
Sillage 9
Longevity 9
Scent

AlphaGamma
9 Reviews

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AlphaGamma

1

Impression

Nicolai is repeatedly linked to Guerlain because she is the niece - in other words, the daughter of a sibling. On the contrary, it's all very different.

I have both this version and the predecessor in its large bulk bottle. To be honest, the reformulation is quite clear. Contrary to its name, the 'Intense' seems more refined, more inclined towards a tepid existence. Splendor and glory in broom, green, balsamic jasmine with rose, a hint of tobacco - the gardener did it! The original version's enamel is lifted from the base to the middle section. It is accompanied throughout by a vegetal freshness.

The fragrance now has more l'air. In return, it lasts longer and is outrageously luxurious.