Vie de Château Intense Nicolaï 2008

There are fragrances that impress with their opulence and the richness of nuances in their composition. But there are also those whose simplicity impresses and the way they create something quite unusual, sometimes even original, from modest ingredients.
Patricia de Nicolaï's 'Vie de Chateau' belongs to this latter category, originally composed as an Eau Fraiche for a noble friend of hers - a Mr. Sigalas - but replaced sixteen years later by an Intense variant.

I do not know why Ms. Nicolaï decided to reformulate the fragrance a few years ago, as the old Eau Fraiche was anything but a quiet, fleeting cologne, but I suspect it was due to newer IFRA regulations, particularly those regulating the use of oak or tree moss.
For 'Vie de Chateau' is a Chypre - and what a Chypre it is!
Patricia de Nicolaï herself calls it a 'Chypre fruité', which is somewhat understandable, as one can indeed experience a fruity accord, but 'Vie de Chateau' is far from being a classic fruity Chypre. No ripe, juicy peach like in 'Mitsouko' contrasts with the resinous-bitter Chypre base, no dark and sweet plum like in 'Femme de Rochas' or 'Diorama'. No, the fruity accord rather develops from a plump grapefruit aroma, which is instantly contrasted in its sweetness with plenty of hay and blonde tobacco, so that the impression of a fruity Chypre only arises in a second sense, or upon more thorough sniffing.

The triad of hay, tobacco, and grapefruit forms the center of the fragrance, around which green and aromatic notes subtly and quietly gather. At this stage, 'Vie de Chateau' vaguely reminds one of 'Eau Sauvage', or even a bit more of its late successor 'Ocean Rain' - as if Patricia de Nicolaï, whether intentionally or not, created a homage to Edmond Roudnitska without denying her own style (a similar feat was recently achieved by Mathilde Laurent with 'L’Heure Fougueuse').

Here I return to my initial statement: similar to 'Eau Sauvage', 'Ocean Rain', but also 'Diorella', 'Vie de Chateau' is one of those fragrances that make 'little' into much more, a lot more.
Not that Patricia de Nicolaï reached Roudnitska's mastery here, for she comes from the overly opulent Guerlain cosmos; no, but she still manages to create a fragrance of extraordinary simplicity and brilliance from a few, somewhat clearly contoured ingredients, which indeed evokes thoughts of supposedly simply structured, sunny, and cheerful country life rather than highly complex and excessively civilized city life (albeit a country life with an aristocratic attitude - here it does not smell of animal excrement, and the hay is not eaten by cows: it is rather used for the noble stud...)

However, the fragrance does differ from Edmond Roudnitska's works, whose creations, despite all reduction, are incredibly refined and finely woven, while 'Vie de Chateau' comes across as somewhat casual - 'casual' in a gentlemanly manner, less with a pitchfork in hand, but rather with the same gloved and ready for a ride.

Beneath the already described triad of citrus-fruity sweetness, strong hay, and tobacco notes, ultimately rests a robust Chypre base, which developed much finer and quieter in the case of the original Eau Fraiche, while in the Intense variant it now blooms dark and full-bodied. To achieve this in the new formulation, Ms. Nicolaï likely resorted to an oak moss substitute (probably 'low atranol'), which she evidently uses quite generously.

Otherwise, the old Eau Fraiche and the current Intense are almost identical - the scent is the same, but it has gained more body, more muscle, so to speak, which is not to be equated with greater longevity or stronger projection - in this respect, the two variants do not differ much, or at all: both are not marathon runners and are equally restrained in their presence.
Therefore, I cannot even say whether I prefer the old variant or the new one - if I feel more inclined towards the fruity-bitter, sparkling top notes, I reach for the Eau Fraiche; if I crave more of the strong Chypre base, I opt for the new Intense. Unfortunately, the latter - and this is perhaps the most significant difference between the two variants - is almost twice as expensive as the old Eau Fraiche.

But that's just how it is in today's perfume world - unfortunately.
Ms. Nicolaï is by no means an isolated case, and regarding her current pricing, still somewhat moderate.

As a final conclusion, I can only say: 'Vie de Chateau' ranks among her best fragrances for me, as a Chypre lover, but it does not reach her most beautiful - 'New York' is and remains the 'shining star'!