Cépages Parfums Cardamome Noire
There is a fullness to the world of Cépages Parfums that I’m positive comes from the perfumer’s direct connection to nature. Composed in Grasse by Lauriane Guignon, a fourth-generation farmer cultivating grapes for winemaking and Rose de Mai (and other aromatic plants) for the perfume industry, her perfumes are rich and seem full of confidence. And whilst they – of course – exist within genres and styles of perfumery we already know, her six fragrances manage to read unique and are undoubtedly the product of study, of passion and – somehow – of generations worth of inherited agricultural learning.
Cépages Parfums Taniros, is Guignon’s tribute to the centifolia rose, the icon of her region. It bears all the hallmarks of her inspiration but that celebrated, aerated, characteristic pink rose nuance has a twist: a more vegetal underscore. I imagine this is conceived from handling the rose in its natural environment; a conjuring of the grasses growing around it, the inevitable aroma of snapped stems and the accidental turning of coarse dry earth at its stalk. If anything, it’s an approach that feels indicative of Guignon’s style, she certainly leans into by calling herself an ‘agriparfumeur’ or a perfumer driven and informed by the hands-on nurturing of her natural ingredients.
Lauriane Guignon in Grasse, tending to her centifolia roses.
Her approach to a tuberose fragrance, Contre Courant (meaning ‘against the current’), benefits from the same smell processing that life in the fields would offer, mixing a cool marine breeze with a decidedly nutty opening that feels soft and yet rigid, sturdy and yet porous like how I imagine a cork workshop might smell. It’s easy to extend this metaphor and apply this same formula of analysis to make examples within each fragrance: how the moreish Muscaté colours a muscat grape accord with background aromas of orange blossom and hints of nargamotha to paint an calm, warm evening stroll through her vineyard or how Borderline explores more of her immediate day to day surroundings, pitting the aroma of the Syrah grape variety alongside patchouli and oakmoss to make a chypre that feels like your smelling some secret part of the wine making process itself.
The Cépages Parfums range is presented simply in eco-considered packaging with a tactile cork cap.
There is poise and a level of self assurance in the way that Guignon acknowledges wider, more generalised perfume conventions before embellishing them (as Picasso once said “learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist”). It’s a tricky thing to surmise but her point of view feels… ‘precise’ makes it seem too scientific, ‘considered’ makes it feel a little laboured and ‘delicate’ is purely the wrong word… so I’ll just say distinct. It’s something that’s personified best in both Eau Lithique and Cardamome Noire. The former is an extrait served at 60% concentration that aims to give nose to the very lifegiving sap that powers and nurtures the grapevines themselves. It’s a boldly mineral composition that buries the clean and green, wide-open-nature tone of eucalyptus under salty sea fennel and whilst it’s perhaps a touch more conceptual and skeletal than the rest, it still feels informed by the same passions for nurturing nature.
Cépages Parfums Cardamome Noire full presentation
Cépages Parfums Cardamome Noire is the darkest composition on offer, a combination of the aforementioned spice and leather that aims to embody the “very essence of volcanic terroirs”. Although Guignon’s native Grasse is not volcanic – it’s sedimentary and tectonic – I know enough about winemaking to know that grapes grown in volcanic soil can have high acidity and flinty, even smoky flavours. And whilst this juice’s inspiration is more “wine inspired” in perfume terms it’s a charming charred leather that burns and fizzes with the intensity of cardamom.
For a perfume with an aura so dark and brooding, Cardamome Noire ends up smelling quite straightforward. According to the perfumer it’s made from three accords: cardamom, cardamom leaf and leather, and Guignon creates these aromatic layers so that they intertwine from the off – at one moment it’s a charge of blackened stone and soot and the next it’s this shimmering haze of green spice that sparkles and pops like a sparkler does in the cold air of a winter night. Again, as is her want, it feels like Guignon is tipping her hat to a well-worn olfactive direction, saying “yes, I know people have done cardamom and leather but they haven’t done it like this…” And within the wider context of such a stylish and accomplished debut collection, the kind of assuredness evident in Cardamome Noire is impossible to ignore.
– Oli Marlow, Senior Editor
Notes: Cardamom, Cardamom Leaf Accord, Leather Accord.
Disclaimer: A discovery set was sent by the brand for review.
All images courtesy of Cépages Parfums.
Cépages Parfums Discovery set
Thanks to the generosity of Lauriane and Cépages Parfums we have a discovery set available worldwide. You must register or your entry will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what sparks your interest based on Oli’s review and where you live. Draw closes 8/24/2026
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