Granville 
Christian Dior (2010)

Classy pine heavy scent from Dior's La Collection Couturier Parfumeur series.

Granville is an aromatic-spicy-woods scent that has pine tree, bergamot, and rosemary spice dominating overall. Pepper and sandalwood remind me "L" by Clive Christian.

Warm weather friendly, unisex for sure...Granville is a casual scent that smells very well-made and a treat for lovers of pine fragrances...like moi! :-)

This initially seem s like like a supercharged cologne - lemony, green, dry, herby, and has some woody depth. But it's more than that. I love the feeling of pine woods it evokes. I think it may be close to my imprinted dream of French citrussy freshness and herbiness (with zero 'marine' stuff). I find it puts me in mind of soda water fizzing on rock at the beach - something almost limestony if such a thing could be smelled.

I wore it today on a hot sunny day locked up at work with stress and nonsense and it made the day brighter. It has very good staying power for something so citrussy, plenty of herbs (thyme) and spice (pepper) and it never goes into that oversweet verbena territory that many initially promising fresh scents often do.

I really like this - it's just complex enough and magically cooling. It is utterly, utterly French and is supposed to evoke the wind and pine of the Manche coast around Granville. As a child I used to stay very near Granville in the summers, but this doesn't really remind me of that coast in wind and seaside terms - maybe my standards for windswept coastlines are too high (as I was brought up near the dramatic and truly windswept Atlantic coast of the west of Ireland). However the pine and Frenchness of it are spot on.

I'm not a big fan of pine notes. I guess I have too many childhood memories of pine air fresheners and scented cleaners that associate a cheap, overly accessible scent. And while Granville leads with pine, the supporting notes of lemon, herbs (rosemary/thyme/mint) and soft woods transform it into something wonderfully fresh and inviting.

I really enjoy Diptyque Hesperides, which was my very affordable version of Granville before I even knew it. But after discovering Dior discontinued it, I decided it was time to explore this fragrance. Longevity is rather like an EDC than an EDT, so one may find reapplying is necessary. I don't mind that, because not every fragrance has to be a powerhouse or bold enough to last 24 hours. This is something very office safe and yet, different from so many other fragrances. It comes somewhat close to being "mouthwash scent", but stops just short of it. A little more mint and it would smell terribly cheap. Ironically, retail prices are rather high for what you get, but it isn't the most popular fragrance from Dior's Couturier Collection so slightly used bottles can be had for very decent discounts. Get it before it starts becoming scarce!

Fragrance 8.1 / Value 7

Granville is a fresh, woody, herbal, slightly spicy mix that reminds me of a traditional men's cologne along the lines of Dior Eau Sauvage or Chanel Pour Monsieur, though certainly it's quite different from both in actual smell. It nonetheless occupies an intersection of fresh and woody aromatic, a nice combination of lemon, pine, pepper, and sandalwood. It's not sweet at all, either. Performance is decent--moderate projection and longevity.

Work-safe and year-round wearable, versatility might be one of Granville's strongest attributes. It's agreeable,
To me, it's akin to Bois D'Argent in that it's very agreeable but nonetheless just a "like" not a "love," especially considering the price (standard Privee pricing of $210 for 125ml). I would certainly wear it if I had it but I probably wouldn't buy it apart from the sample I have.

Definitely worth trying--this could be a signature scent, especially for men.

7 out of 10