Burgundy Oud Atelier Materi 2024

she steps out of her car, 5 hours of driving behind her, and takes a deep breath of the air on this sunny, still warm October day. she has arrived. her heart breathes free and light and wide, a joyful smile rests on her lips and tears of deeply felt joy and gratitude shimmer in her eyes. how she has longed for this! for her heart home, the Palatinate along the southern wine route, between Edenkoben and the French border.

here she has lived well and loved intoxicatingly for one and a half decades - life, the women, the people here and their open-mindedness, and the enchanting scent of the land.
she breathes in and out deeply and enjoys.

here at one of her favorite spots, she absorbs the view into the vastness of the land, she can see all the way to the Rhine plain, which spills like a sea over the gently fading hills before her, interrupted by nut trees, orchards, blackberry hedges, and long tree-lined vineyards, and at her back, she feels the bright, friendly forest of the Palatinate uplands, which stretches far to the west and north and houses a multitude of rock formations made of sandstone as well as castle ruins from times gone by.

like a lover, she inhales this typical scent of early autumn after the still summer-dry red earth, the omnipresent aroma of must, pressed grapes, and good wine, the chestnut forests marked by dryness that are already giving away their first delicious fruits.

the light wind plays with the smoothly flowing, abstractly floral fabric of her dress, a cozy hoodie and her heavy leather boots provide her body with the warmth that prevents it from shivering.

she will spend the evening with a wine tasting in the cozy, dark walls of a bio-winery nearby, with lovingly prepared food and warm-hearted, attentive people.

and for the night, she will return here. breathe, love, be.

***
burgundy oud lets me revel in exactly this happiness.

what a scent! if it were a wine, it would be a deep dark red Pinot Noir from the Palatinate, aged in a barrique barrel. powerful, rough, spicy, tannin-rich, with a dry-woody texture yet with a light-footed elegance and wonderfully berry-sparkling youthfulness.

burgundy oud is urban and equally at home in the countryside. it is stylish yet elegant and at the same time pragmatic-robust. as sophisticated as it is deeply rooted in the earth. juicy berries, spicy dark wood, and dried sandstone earth.

on my skin, an incredibly beautiful combination unfolds of black currant - so authentic that I can feel the dry, astringent sensation on my tongue - fresh, lightly spicy cardamom, and a bitter-citrusy bergamot, which contributes its prickly texture and acidity, reminding me of the aromas of pressed grapes.

I do not highlight the flowers as separate notes; they complement this sensual fruit fireworks with a velvety, quiet friendliness, neither sweet nor creamy, but dry and soft.

and then unfolds what was already hinted at in the opening: a rough, dark-leathery oud. like wooden beams in a cellar vault or the planks of an ancient ship, which have become darker, heavier, and nobler over decades. the oud shows all its strength on me and yet is never too much, which is truly a feat. and thanks to the ever-present, changing balance with the softened fruit note and a bright-aromatic lightness.

like several other fragrances from this house - whether I like to wear them or not - burgundy oud simply blows me away with its authentic, naturally appearing, and incredibly finely tuned composition. breathe, love, be.