Explorer Eau de Parfum

The unusual material in Montblanc Explorer Eau de Parfum is akigalawood, and it is what stops this being another polite designer release.

The opening is short and clean. Bergamot gives a sharp citrus lift, sage runs alongside it with a dry herbal bitterness, and between them they set up perhaps fifteen minutes of brightness before the scent commits to what it actually is. What it actually is becomes clear in the heart. Vetiver arrives dry, rooty and faintly smoky, leather gives it a smooth, slightly sweet polish rather than anything rough or animal, and sandalwood sits beneath both of them adding a creamy density that keeps the dryness from becoming harsh. This is the stretch that most people buy the bottle for, and it holds for several hours. The base is patchouli and akigalawood. Patchouli brings damp earth and a bittersweet depth. Akigalawood is derived from patchouli and behaves like a sharper relative of it, sharp and dry with a resinous bite, and it gives the drydown a modern texture that a straight patchouli base would not have. Seven materials in total and no wasted moves. In wear it projects confidently for the first hour or two and then settles close without vanishing, which makes it easy to wear at work as well as in the evening. It is aimed at men, it suits autumn and winter best, and it is comfortable enough for mild weather too.

Montblanc is a Hamburg company, famous first for fountain pens and writing instruments and later for watches and leather goods, and it now sits within the Richemont group. Its fragrances are produced under licence rather than in house, which is the normal arrangement for a brand whose craft lies elsewhere.