Santal Noble
Maître Parfumeur et Gantier (1988)

Too many sandalwood candles, incense sticks, FOs & EOs, car fresheners, frags, soaps, etc., are flowery messes to me. SN is NOT one of these.

So few come off mainly as subtle, a little nutty, a little creamy, a little musky in a sunkissed, skintight way... with supporting spice or other notes providing just that, a supporting role. SN IS one of these. Definitely unisex. A favorite, along with Profvmvm Santalum. I have not smelled newer formulations.

Even though they only have one note in common, for some reason Santal Noble reminds me of Cadavre Exquis, except Santal Noble is a much less ‘in your face' fragrance. Thinking I might be losing my mind, I asked my husband to smell each of them and he agreed that there is a similarity, but the Santal Noble was much more restrained. Spiced vanilla coffee and sandalwood with a big dash of patchouli, warmed up by the amber. This is good stuff.

This is nice, agreeable, a little sweet, but still formal, and subtle.

It is lovely. I only see one note listed, sandalwood, and it does have an artful minimalism, but I think I also smell oak moss, and I think the sweetness comes from "amber."

Santal Noble from 1988 is the fourth entry in my late 80s / early 90s smell alikes, for reasons I wish I knew, joined by Pour Monsieur Concentree (1989), Tiffany for Men (1989), and, perhaps to a lesser extent, Heritage (1992).

Rich, creamy and opulent sandalwood fragrance from MdG. I have read all the high recommendations for Santal Noble and finally obtained a sample. They're all spot on. This is an absolutely exquisite sandalwood composition, where the wood note actually rises to the surface of the scent. The sandalwood is blended with vanilla to give it a soft, yet deep and sweet fragrance. I get hints of nutmeg, incense and perhaps another island spice, but the essence is still urban and refined. It's a masculine scent, although it might be worn by a woman with confidence as well. It's a bit light on sillage, but longevity was good. An excellent fragrance and absolutely bottle worthy. Definite Thumbs Up

An opulent and very satisfying sandalwood fragrance, Santal Noble is another great Maître Parfumeur and Gantier accomplishment. Together with Ambre Précieux and Route du Vétiver, it makes up something like a “Great Trio” in Jean Laporte's original 1988 lineup, those three remaining to this day the crown jewels of this house. Santal Noble is all about sandalwood, highlighting the rough and woody aspects of the note over its more conventionally accentuated creamy or balsamic sides. During its development, the sandalwood finds itself elegantly backed up by a large assortment of supporting notes like amber, spices, and incense, as well as a distinctive touch of coffee, making this an impressive and truly gratifying woody oriental. Like most other fragrances in MPG's “Parfums du Levant” series, Santal Noble makes an audacious statement: it is baroque, grand, even monumental, yet, amazingly, it is also very easy to wear and never gets heavy or cloying. Well executed, masterfully blended, and one of the best sandalwoods out there.

This is a nice sandalwood (more woody like planks of wood than typical incense) sweetened with vanilla and an enjoyable ambergris. The opening is a bit harsh and very earthy but it softens to a nice exotic scent not unlike Timbuktu (but without the fruit). The sillage isn't great like Timbuktu but it probably would be a monster if it did project too much. Very enjoyable and recommended for sandalwood and gourmand fans. Ambergris fans will also like how it dries down and how it plays with the vetiver and oakmoss to give it an outdoors character.

Genre: Chypre

It took me a very long time to appreciate this fragrance, but now that I've come to terms with it, I consider it one of perfumery's towering masterpieces. Like many Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier scents Santal Noble has a deceptive opening. For the first few moments on the skin it smells like an oversweetened mocha drink from Starbucks. You'd assume from this opening that Santal Noble is an overbearing syrupy gourmand scent in the mold of A*Men. How wrong you'd be, too.

The chocolate falls waaaay into the background, and the coffee note blends quickly with velvety smooth sandalwood, moss, and dry patchouli into a superbly rich, dark, semi-dry accord that positively reeks of dignity. Move over Blenheim Bouquet, No. 88, and Vintage Tabarome – you've met your aristocratic match in Santal Noble. Santal Noble even has that paragon of male elegance, Patou pour Homme peeking nervously at its rear view mirror. The creamy luxury of Santal Noble's sandalwood accord makes others seem crude by comparison. It's elevating, reassuring, and empowering all at once. It's also dark and mysterious enough in its amber-tinted depths to suggest an animalic energy and barely concealed sexuality in its wearer. No “grandpa scent” this one!

Long lasting and with just the right amount of sillage, Santal Noble is a delight right through its amber, moss and yes, sandalwood drydown. While it's not something I'd wear with shorts, T-shirt, and flip-flops, it works as well for me on dates, at meetings, or in romantic moments. Along with Patou pour Homme, Santal Noble is one of the first scents I look to when I want to project quiet authority. It may not be to everybody's taste, but anyone with an interest in woody fragrances ought to give Santal Noble at least a full day's wearing at one point or another.

What a great fragrance.
It's really interesting how different the opinions on a fragrance could be!
While some people say that this a sandalwood based fragrances, to me this is an amber based fragrance supported by strong spices and noticeable amount of woods but amber is the major note here!
The opening is a sharp and resinous amber scent mixed with patchouli, spices, woods, coffee and some incense all together at the same time!
That seems a busy opening but believe me because of great quality and great balance of the notes you can smell all of them without any problem.
Amber is resinous, sweet and great.
Patchouli is earthy, alive and kicking!
There are lots of spices and woods to give this manly scent more depth.
There is some incense and coffee here to give the whole scent slightly bitter and smoky aroma.
it's simply beautiful.
In the mid the coffee, patchouli and incense notes settle down very much.
You can still smell resinous amber but it's smoother.
The woods and spices weren't strong enough for you at the opening?! OK you will get more in the dry down!
The amber in the dry down is more sweet but it's really smooth and almost creamy with great supporting of sandalwood and spices.
Projection is very good and longevity is 6-7 hours on my skin.
Great juice.

"The" santal scent par excellence for me. And one of the best masculines (although much unisex) ever made. Unmistakable, uncompromising, quintessential perfection. Cozy and elegant, soft and deep. The only "weakness" you may find is that, as Turin correctly suggests in his guide, Mysore sandalwood has quite a more complex and multi-faceted smell, which you don't smell here (although it is not true that it is "unobtainable"). But you know what... who cares? None said this should have been an essay on Mysore sandalwood. This is a beautiful and timeless take on sandalwood theme and it's gorgeous just as it is.

9/10

This review is for the vintage juice.
If you are looking for a creamy,rich,deep,soft and slightly sweet sandalwood,THIS IS IT.

After much faffing around, I managed to get my hands on a sample. I then got another sample. And before long, I ended up with a full bottle. Usually this pattern is repeated for several weeks but I went through all these phases in a matter of a week.
As others have already said, this is a nicely composed Amber, Coffee, Oakmoss, and Sandalwood potion. The sandalwood is cleverly hidden. You won't get wiffs of it as you do in say, Villoresi's Sandalo, but it does exist and it is prominent in the extreme dry down. There is some vanilla also thrown in for good measure, which gives it a bit of sweetness. Think of a vanilla-flavoured latte, though without the milk. The amber to my nose is more or less linear throughout and it's hard to pick up on the sandalwood behind it (Maybe that's why this is 'noble' sandalwood?). They do sit together very well and work in harmony - one does not interfere with another.
In any case it's great for a winter's night out but IMHO not quite as good as Villoresi's Sandalo. Needless to say it's a great one for the wardrobe and any sandalwood freak should at least try it out.

Santal Noble is anything but a simplistic fragrance since its aroma unquestionably includes further olfactory elements apart an high quality sandalwood (which does not naturally evolve towards an usual dry woodiness but morphs towards something never properly buttery but "rounded" for sure). Is this properly a sandalwood prominent fragrance? Probably not as there are at least a couple of notes incarnating an equal (or almost equal) level of relevance in the final olfactory equilibrium. The aroma starts soon boozy and coffee "veined", with a sweet amber carnal plain tone rising in a while from the base. The note of amber is protagonist on the sandalwood side for sure (and in my opinion together with a final smooth high quality mossy vetiver) and it's spicy (cinnamon?), liquorous in main perception (with a sort of seasoned woody undertone), luxurious, divinely retro and slightly decadent as usual for such of high quality raw ambers. I detect the Tam Dao powdery/resinous deja vu for sure but the Diptyque's fragrance is less properly ambery and more woody and musky/spicy/floral in my opinion. An irresistible opening (coloured with boozy sparks, languid bergamot, and probably moss) is furthermore the prelude to an almost immediate central slightly buttery amber/patchouli phase before the "resinousity" recedes in order to leave the scene to a lush vetiver/sandalwood/oakmoss royal dry down. In this phase i detect a sort of spongy (not pungent at all) coffee/burnt sugar brown effect (veined with an arcane touch of rubber) enhancing the general aromatic luxuriousness. In the dry down phase the note of vetiver is in my opinion dominant. I place this fragrance in the clan of decadent/baroque concoctions a la Habit Rouge Vintage EDT, Patchouli Noir by il Profvmo, Heritage, Ambre Precieux and stuffs like this. Good longevity and moderate projection.