Givenchy Gentleman 
Givenchy (1974)

The perfume my father used (together with Equipage by Hermés) when he met my mother, was in 1978. And my father himself spoke to me about this perfume for years, describing it to me as magnificent, dense, robust, super masculine but extremely elegant and classy with an underlying odor that was inexplicably beautiful to him.

A few decades later I managed to get my hands on some old bottles, actually quite old I'd say since I'm talking about inventories dating back to 1980 or so. What to say? It really is a gorgeous scent, period.

1980-1983 version
The opening is irrepressible, an explosion of patchouli tamed by spices, citrus fruits, honey, rose and something creamy perhaps given by the iris. Once the initial phase has passed, the heart of the fragrance opens into its main accord of earthy and creamy patchouli (as dichotomy as it sounds, it is...), leather and a mixture of vaguely sweet flowers; no, I'm not repeating what I wrote for the opening, it's just that the scents are the same if it weren't for the fact that now they are much less defined, more amalgamated and less sharp. Finally, the base is a very homogeneous accord of musky, creamy and vaguely sweet patchouli accompanied by leather.
Gentleman by Givenchy is NOT:
an extremely complex perfume,
a bombastic trail and projection,
a "modern" fragrance,
a pleasing perfume,
a perfume suitable for everyone.
Gentleman by Givenchy IS:
a perfume with a good persistence (6 hours without problems),
a perfume with an average projection at the beginning and discreet in the evolution
an extremely classic smell,
perhaps dated,
of great class
for an adult person
very masculine
damn beautiful
never cloying
suitable for cold autumn or winter days.

In short, as long as you're willing to spend the right amount for a vintage bottle, I think it's one of the best men's perfumes you can buy today.

An the award for most spellbinding opening a fragrance goes to: GIVENCHY GENTLEMAN ORIGINAL (1974). And the mid and base are scintillating as well.

What a showstopper. There is high fidelity in this icon of the 70s. It really does warp time and takes you out of the dystopian now, with its winsome confidence that dares to proclaim patchouli, honey, civet, and leather all at once.

I am a GENTLEMAN. I KNOW myself. And I don't care what you think, but I do care about the magnetism that this elixir imbues to my skin. I'll draw you in...

Immense. 10/10.

He's a Gentleman who encounters a woodcutter in the forest. He helps the Gentleman to find the way to his house, but darkness falls and the Gentleman is forced to spend the night in the woodcutter's hut. The moments that pass between them is a bit scary. It creates reality, fantasy, illusion and nightmares. In fact, it depicts the image of a Gentleman who has a special kind of decency and honor at the same time, an interesting charm and coolness, which makes us accept him in the role of charismatic and memorable characters. Having the character of this man in these days when masculinity needs a new definition, it's still fascinating and impressive. He is a intelligent, well-spoken, resilient and determined man who has principles and ideas for himself in every situation and time and does not intend to go beyond them. However, in this time full of contradictory men, this Gentleman is a great treasure.

Great stuff and an 1970's masterpiece. this scent has a real sweet of honey, woodsy-animalic aroma making it absolutely stupendous. Upon initial spray, it comes on quite bold and classy. With a captivating spice but sweet at the same time scent. Half a minute latter you receive an avalanche of notes including sweet honey, patchouli, musk and well composed other notes that lead you to love this fragrance. You feel like you're in the presence of orchestra with conducteur mixing tons of lovable different notes and blending them together to form a symphony. When it dries down the patchouli with the cinnamon prevails, along with the honey and the musk and civet elements come in but faintly to give this fragrance more depth. that's my favorite part, it's very addictive. It's smooth and has a nostalgic vibe to it. Great for anything expect hot wearher. This is a mature, confidant man. A reminder of 70's a time when was that men must smell manly.

GIVENCHY GENTLEMAN EdT.
This write-up is for a 2010-version (silver cap, black collar, single front-label, fat spray-tube).
Doing a sbs with my deep-vtg wrap-around label version, I "could" tell you that the 2010 version is criminally inferior shadow-of-its-former-self yadda-yadda-yadda and that you should only get the wrap-around label versions...but then I'd be a snobby bag of hot air and a liar, 'cause it's simply not true. YES, IT'S ALL SUBJECTIVE, however, the matter of fact is that you're simply not worse off getting a 2010 version. Vtg is beautiful but so is this. The only, to me, really percievable difference is that the patchouli in vtg is more pronounced, clear and defined (of the sweeter Indian kind). The rest is all there. Here comes the rambling part: "But what about the oakmoss and russian leather beep-beep-beep?!!". Yeah, whatabout it? Nothing! I can't smell those things in the vintages anyway. Like those folks saying "Whoooooaaa that's an Oakmoss-bomb! The oakmoss just jumps right out at ya and holds you hostage for hours, and..and..!". Uh, okay. And when does that happen, 'cause it's been a couple hours now and so far we're only talking, like, trace amounts here...? Disappointed...every...friggin...time. BUT this Gentleman delivers just as well as ol'-balls-Vintage! It's all about the patchouli, carnation and creamy woods anyway. Even hammering away better in the longevity department (10+ hrs on me). It's got it ALL! Trust me, it's ALL good with this "inferior" version! Subjective as this is, maybe YOU can smell all of these wonderful restricted and forbidden yummy notes?
Either way, 2010 was still a damn fine year for Givenchy Gentleman! Beep-beep, Ritchie..

This is not for everybody. But for mature men it can be quite heavenly.

It's not loud, but it sits nicely on skin once it's fully developed and provides quiet wafts of patchouli, leather a touch of cinnamon.
Nice longevity on me.

One gets the sense it has been tamed a lot in recent years. This one must have been a balls to the wall beast in the 70s.
If I ever get ambitious or rich, maybe seek out a vintage bottle.