Morning Chess Vilhelm Parfumerie 2015 Eau de Parfum

Aventus..much enemy-much honor..everything has been said about that..but when it comes to the fragrance description of Morning Chess, one can't really avoid the topic. Further down I read "Aventus? Nose broken" ..nope..nose completely functional;-) No, Morning Chess is not another countless or incompetent clone, but it does vaguely remind one of it. Citrusy aromas blend with fruity streaks, and I would then speak of an Aventus vibe or accord, because here rather diluted and/or slightly dirty aromas take precedence, the fruits don't shine as much. This may be due to the slightly sugary or honey-sweet note in the background, which thankfully only shows up for a few minutes, somehow it doesn't seem to fit quite right.
With the increasing spice-smoke, Morning Chess increasingly pushes itself towards the direction of the Arabic and American Aventus clones, which has always immediately taken away my desire for these fragrances. This slightly bitter-oriental-smoky and slightly grimy note also ruins this scent for me, ruin in the sense that I don't want to wear or buy it. It may be that the chess room in front of the open fireplace and the extinguished cigars from the night before still smells like this, but this fragrance phase is not really harmoniously integrated. In the original, at this point, I like the slightly classic, masculine-dry note, here it feels a bit like a foreign body, perhaps also because the scent does not become too uniform to be unmasked as a clone..who knows! But therein lies the main flaw of the fragrance, on one hand it is not independent enough to attract new/other fragrance fans and on the other hand it is simultaneously too weak in expression, too poorly defined, like a pale watermark. In this regard, it strongly reminds me of Orion by Tiziana Terenzi..which I once referred to as a diluted Aventus, which did not quite do justice to the multifaceted fragrance. I would definitely prefer this over Morning Chess.
What remains is a slight disappointment because it doesn't offer much new and doesn't beautifully repeat the tried and true. Solid fragrance, but for €210 that is too little for me, not to mention the pricing policy of offering 18ml bottles for €80, for that Creed would surely be nailed to the wall..so be it;-)
The longevity and sillage are very good, it lasts well for 6-7 hours, slightly bitter and smoky scent remnants linger even a bit longer on the skin. After Black Citrus, a second slight disappointment..let's see if they interpret the Oud theme better.

EDIT 27.05.18
After another test two weeks ago, I must admit that it has indeed won my heart. What I didn't like at first - smoky-spicy-herbaceous - I now particularly enjoy, I no longer see it as a scent belonging to the Aventus family, but as an independent fragrance, especially the spicy leather pleases me exceptionally well and has thus moved into the collection.