Amouage Renaissance – Enclave, Meander, Ashore & Crimson Rocks Review – 2020

A very exciting set of scents made its way under my nose in episode 120 of Love At First Scent: the brand new Renaissance quartet from Amouage, consisting of Ashore, Meander, Crimson Rocks and Enclave. What makes their arrival special is that they provide the first genuine sense of the direction the brand may take under the directorship of Renaud Salmon. Yes, two fragrances have already been released under his tenure, but Interlude Black Iris Man was a flanker and Overture Woman was, of course, a counterpart to Overture Man. But these are the first bona fide Salmon creations, which is why smelling them was such a fascinating experience. Here’s a link to the episode: Amouage Ashore, Meander, Enclave, Crimson Rocks review. And below you’ll find a few more, brief thoughts on the perfumes.

As I say in the video, there’s no question that these have been conceived as a set: there’s a rose, a jasmine, an incense and an amber. Those four don’t come together by coincidence, and their convergence underlines the fact that Salmon is trying to bring the brand’s olfactory inspiration back to its Omani roots. They’re also not as eccentric as much of the house’s output tended to be in recent years. Amouage releases were often fairly polarising – a strategy that can pay off in perfumery – but these create a smoother, rounder shape as they waft through the air, preferring to meld into their surroundings rather than clash with them.

Crimson Rocks, composed by Domitille Michalon-Bertier, is perhaps the ‘straightest’ of the four: a solidly-constructed rose with fruity, spicy facets, bolstered by woods. It reserves its more interesting features for the drydown, so it’s worth sticking with it over a period of a few hours.

Enclave (Julien Rasquinet) is the biggest let-down. After a striking opening in which mint is juxtaposed with sweeter, warmer amber notes (with, remarkably, not one hint of toothpaste in evidence!) it descends to a base overly dominated by woody ambers. I suspect it’ll do extremely well at the tills.

Ashore (Mackenzie Reilly) is one of the most delightful jasmines I’ve had the pleasure of smelling for a very long time indeed. Here, the sunnier disposition of the flowers is brought out to gleaming effect through the use of mineral notes that manage to evoke both the blueness of Middle Eastern skies and the irresistible saltiness of the sea. Gorgeous work.

Finally, Meander (Reilly again) is a curious, haunting, hard-to-describe combination of incense and iris. The duo calls to mind the brand’s own Opus V, which famously linked iris to oud. But that’s not to say that the two fragrances smell similar. All they share is a sense of mystery, but whereas Opus V was brash and larger-than-life, Meander is introspective and slower. In my view, it’s the strongest member of the Renaissance set, and bodes extremely well for the future of the brand.

Persolaise

[Amouage Renaissance collection review based on samples of eau de parfum provided by the brand in 2020.]

—
If you’ve enjoyed this post, please consider supporting my work
by ‘buying me a coffee’ using the panel below.
Thanks very much indeed.

—