Venezia Essenza pour Homme The Merchant Of Venice 2017

Thanks to dear Alison, last week the luxury sample set of both new Venezia fragrances arrived at my place, a big thank you for this generosity! After the 2 dreamy La Fenice fragrances, my great hope was that the scent would at least be half as beautiful as the 2 stunning bottles, which would still be a real hit. And it was a hit!
I once read that the coffee aroma consists of up to 400 individual or sub-aromas. This made it clear to me that there will never be a truly authentic and real coffee scent. However, Venezia homme stands out significantly. The coffee note is also the first thing you really perceive clearly. No sweetened Intense Cafe, no gnarly Oud Divin, and not even Cafe Tuberose... it’s most similar to the first few seconds of Aoud Cafe, just not quite as bitter. Oily and deep black, yes, rich and very aromatic, and after a few seconds underlined by a mix of Tonka Absolute and allspice for me. It simply smells fantastic and quickly reminds me of the first minutes of Bois Dore by Van Arpels. Nothing here smells over- or under-sweetened and has a relaxing and soothing effect on me, yes, cozy could also describe it well. Yes, I also occasionally smell coconut, but not like Bounty or Virgin Island Water, rather like in Roam in a slightly smoky/dirty form.
Anyone who knows Palo Santo by Carner Barcelona will also recognize this delicious hint of aromatic and slightly sweet-spicy sandalwood here. However, it comes across as significantly less gourmand in Venezia. I can also detect a fleeting hint of El Born, which exudes a very special charm in cold temperatures. The great advantage of Venezia, in terms of regular and uncomplicated wear, is that it doesn’t overwhelm you with constantly gourmand notes; that wears off very quickly for me and saturates me for weeks. What also helps is its non-static nature during the further development of the scent; sure, coffee continues to dominate, but new scent nuances keep emerging, such as vetiver and a distinctly ultra-soft leather in the base. Both notes provide balance in the fragrance, which would otherwise risk drifting into a mono-sweet-spicy territory, which would certainly take away its excitement.
Thus, Venezia remains a well-rounded affair and is wonderfully balanced.
However, Venezia is still a fragrance for the cool/cold season, wrapping you warmly and painting very nice pictures of a café in Venezia, where well-groomed older men in stylish and quality clothing and hats tell their stories. There’s still a hint of smoke and cantuccini in the air... maybe also a bit of amaretto... one wants to linger... and just listen to the stories... wonderful!
The longevity is excellent at 9-10 hours, and the sillage is also splendid, strong but not annoyingly overpowering. Women should definitely give it a sniff too.
But I still regret not having been to the Merchant of Venice boutique in Venice last year...
Oh yes, thanks to dear Sonic, I was able to snag a leftover bottle, unfortunately, it doesn’t look quite as beautiful and high-quality in the picture!