Linfedele Haiku
O'Driù (2012)

Gasoline, band-aids
Herbs, vanilla, oud made up
A good dream while awake.

Linfedele Haiku opens with a tight, wonderful edible note of cocoa drowned in an oily barrel of wine-ish petrol, with echoes of liquorice, coffee, clove, cumin, nutmeg, green leaves, a floral accord which I can not "dissect" further, Pregoni's signature medicinal vibe, and an overall powerful, bold sticky density. Much close to Josh Lobb's style, or the way round – I know the two noses appreciate each other, and I see why. A bizarre, dusty, almost concrete-like or tar-like base, a bit leathery too, floating in a splendid, rarefied cloud of vanilla. Extreme angles and polar opposites brilliantly coexist, the harmony is great. Floral dissonances, a mossy/green breeze, and a sticky, black, ambery sea. A sensual, aromatic, light, heavy, narcotic, morbid chypre with a green side and some gourmand echoes, simple yet deep, "easier" than other O'Driù's, with less notes and each one with a more broad density. This one is particularly pleasant and tasty, so perhaps more appealing to a broader audience. A sort of post-human, "urbanized", destructured chypre, with a gorgeous dark base which is perhaps leather, but smells more like tar, dusty concrete, with a fascinating stale vibe. A load of spices deliver Pregoni's trademark medicinal/herbal accord, with a castoreum heart giving it depth and a "fleshy" aftertaste. Angelo manages to stuff with great balance and visual sense of harmony all his obsessions and visions in his creations, each scent developing a particular "path", this one smells to me of guilt, loneliness, loath and sensuality - in a voyeurist meaning, there's this subtle decadence, or more precisely, melancholy, with is a sort of camphor-stale note which smells of absence, void rooms, of just... spying the sensual object, or dreaming of it. The drydown evolves with a beautiful soft vanillin base emerging with all its coziness and gracefulness, still surrounding an ambiguous darker base accord. All is just top quality. Luscious and sophisticated.

8,5/10

A fragrance poemCastoreum, tonka and black pepper's rich and deep notes are combines with grapefruit, carnation and a gorgeous incense and pine wood to a glorious, on my skin quite unique blend. Incense is the overall impression, but full of these various components that oscillate as the scent develops over time. In the drydown cardamom, angelica, patchouli, vanilla and myrrh add more substance and more exciting nuances to this incense potpourri, that is never thick, overly heave and cloying. In the base coffee and mate tea make brief appearances, but this always remains incense centered. Astoundingly beautifully blended of ingredients of the highest quality, is has good silage and projection, and a splendid longevity of around nine hours. A masterpiece for autumnal days.Pros: Longevity, creativity and qualityCons:

Linfedele Haiku is another peppery/ botanic/aromatic concoction from the marvellous niche brand O'Driu', the brand that (according with many) brings Niche back to its place. I detect by soon a sort of landmark angelica/cardamom/bitter herbs-resins/saffron/hay (barley?) accord in the air but is a sort of sharp fruity-floral chord, represented under my nose by an orange/lime/grapefruit/carnation (or geranium) olfactory connection, that solicits my senses with a (soon fading) orangy tartness. The latter has a brief life cause (as already told by the optimum drseid in the previous review) a "not powdery, not super-sweet vanilla" starts embracing the spicy/herbal/resinous elements in a sort of soothing aromatic and tickling olfactive hug. An accord of patchouli, spices and dry flowers reinforces the masculine trail of the juice. A durable touch of dark bitterness is whirling firmly in the air and while i was curiousing about the listed notes somewhere than i caught the real reason of that feel which abides in some hints of dark coffee perfectly linked to the vanillic cushion encompassing the elements. A peppery touch of saffron(kurcuma) lingers around till the end of the trip and provides, on the side of some piney coolness of mountain and may be a minimal incensey pattern, a general aromatic-dusty vibe. Linfedele Haiku is another aristocratic fragrance from the eminent aforementioned italian niche brand and is a discreet bitter/sweet, articulated, tickeling/spicy concoction which possesses a very natural feel of forest and an olfactory juxtaposition between tart mildness, vanillic smoothness, anisic/piney minty temperament and culinary bitterness. Perfect for a confidential and a bit hipster kind of busy man focused over its secret functions. Wonderful packaging.

The opening to Linfedele Haiku should be familiar to O'driu fans, as it has the house herbal signature all over it (and in my case I view that as a very good thing, as I love the house herbal combo plenty-well). You get the nice herbal mix including some fiery red pepper, but this time it is tempered with the faintest hint of carnation, then a high quality non-powdery nor super-sweet vanilla (most likely the same stuff used in Leva) that tones the herbs down just a hair to make this a much more easily accessible composition. Under the herbal vanilla mix once transitioning to the heart notes a very subtle pine and coffee combination undertone emerges that can easily be missed if you are not paying close attention, with the vanilla and herbs still the stars. It just melds right in with the rest of the notes to provide a bit of spine to the accord, but never calling attention to itself. Finally, the dry-down sweetens a hair further, using a patchouli and mate tandem taking co-starring roles while the herbal vanilla accord recedes well into the background at this point. This dry-down is new to the line (or at least that I recall) and adds a nice twist to the development. Longevity and projection are both average.

I so hoped I would enjoy Linfedele Haiku out of the samples I received because it happens to be in a price bracket that is much more doable on a budget at least in relative terms at 180 Euros. I am happy to say that I absolutely love, love, love it. I know some have a difficult time with the culinary herb mixture the house frequently uses, but not I... That said, the use of high quality vanilla in just the right amount to tone down the spice and herbs a bit is quite the accomplishment and I think it makes the accord much more approachable to folks that find the "full dose" just a bit too much. The mate and patchouli dry-down is a bit more simplistic than some of the most complex scents from the house, but it smells great and the scent over-all is anything but simplistic for sure. I would say this is definitely right up there with the best the house has to offer, and is easily the best value I have encountered from it to date. It goes without saying I highly recommend Linfedele Haiku and have put my money where my mouth is in purchasing a bottle. I give this truly excellent "Top 10 List" worthy composition 4.5+ stars out of 5.