Nobile 1942 Pontevecchio photo © Oli Marlow

It’s amazing what your nose can grow to tolerate. I distinctly remember smelling Nasomatto’s fragrances for the first time and thinking to younger myself, “oh wow… this is so much, why would anyone want this?” But ever since then, my olfactory bulb has been chasing that high, searching for that same kind of blunted confusion, – to be blown away by something completely new. My brain, however, just wanted to know how the perfumer did that. To figure out the structure and to discover what those individual ingredients were and how they could be simultaneously dark yet so shimmering and transparent.

It didn’t take long for me to discover some of the more obvious keys to modern fragrances like Hedione, iso e super, ambroxan, vetiverol, patchoulol or paradisamide. These and more aroma chemicals shocked me into realisation like “oh this is what they’re using!” But one of the biggest slaps of my early perfume comprehension was butyl quinoline secondary. All of a sudden, those bold Nasomattos and leather fragrances I (now) loved made sense. The aroma is big, it’s loud and hard to tame -it’s weirdly petrol like for a second and then it feels like it’s not there at all after it’s overloaded your bulb with tenacity. The same cloud of confusion and the drive to understand it returned.

Ponte Vecchio bridge Unsplash

That same vivid, dark streak runs through Pontevecchio from the Italian house, Nobile 1942 – a perfume which remains my favourite example of how to use; and how to decorate the quinoline to soften and accentuate its impact. Translated into English, ‘ponteveccio’ simply means ‘old bridge’ but in Florence the Ponte Vecchio is of vast historical importance – home to the city’s leather and jewellery workshops it was the only bridge in the city that was spared from destruction during World War II. Today it’s built up with jewelry shops – the city’s gold quarter that spans the width of the Arno river.

Nobile 1942 Pontevecchio photo © Oli Marlow

The leathery spine of Nobile 1942 Pontevecchio is tenacious and earthy and dark, but it’s presented with a Florentine iris that turns its aura slightly purple. There’s a supporting bouquet of rose, geranium, ylang-ylang and jasmine that delivers a dewy background lift but the main crux of the perfume is those two aforementioned materials: the iris and the quinoline. In combination they’re glorious. Smell it often enough and sometimes your brain can tune out the patchouli accented leather and you get the soft, aqueous bouquet. But then this big vivid dark slice comes back, piercing the smellscape. It’s full of contrast and contradiction: the poetic beauty of the Tuscan region and the hard slab of manmade engineering (the bridge itself).

Perfumer Marie Duchêne via Instagram

I don’t really consider myself that much of a sentimental person. I’ve spent a long time trying to be more present and focused – something which no doubt is a result of becoming a father – but Nobile 1942 Pontevecchio always reminds me of falling in love with the artistry of perfume. Posing how a perfumer like Marie Duchêne can succeed in taking something as pretty as Pontevecchio’s supporting bouquet and spiking it with such a dark slice of dryness? Yes, it supports and extends both the patchouli and the vetiver tones, but why would she do something so big and drastic? What does it achieve? In this case: it’s everything. appeal is the contrast itself, a transportive clash of lavish lush florals, sun baked stone and leather that excels in the tiny details whilst also delivering a brutal, purpled leather in a quintessentially confident Italian style.

Notes: bergamot, mandarin, frankincense, iris, rosewood, geranium, cedarwood, ylang-ylang, jasmine, rose, sandalwood, patchouli, vetiver and musk.

Disclaimer: A sample of Pontevecchio was provided by Jovoy Mayfair, opinions my own.

–Oli Marlow, Contributor

courtesy of the brand

Thanks to the generosity of Nobile 1942 we have a bottle of Pontevecchio available for one registered reader in the US or EU only.  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 of Nobile 1942 Pontevecchio and where you live. Draw closes 10/25/2024

Please enjoy Nicoleta’s review of A Grazia here and Ermano Picco’s review of Nobile 26 here.

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