If any oud is fit to be worn by a China Market mogul, this is it. Extracted from rare Chinese agarwood that’s now officially extinct, it boasts the most sought-after fragrance in the world, second only to Vietnamese kinam.
Chinese ouds are exceptionally rare – you’ve probably only heard of one or two. The most notable being Royal Kinam, our famed Hong Kong distillation from 2007.
What you’ve got here is Royal Kinam’s older brother, distilled two years prior, and as scent profiles go, as close as you’ll get – with added depth, richness and maturity.
Notes of ambergris, mahogany, tobacco, orange peel and deer musk hurl the scent into a pheromonal zenith that’s as primordial as the Himalayas, with strong longevity even in humid weather, and a soulstirring kinam drydown that evokes the most precious notes found in Chinese agarwood.
A spray of orange zest gives the aroma a sensual zing that imbues the scent’s animalic marrow with a spicy-sweet twang you only get to smell in wild Chinese oud that’s been aged a decade or two.
Subtle flashes of Royal Kinam tease you constantly, sort of like sitting in front of a close acquaintance’s brother – and the family resemblance is so strong you keep squinting, trying to figure out where on earth you met this person before.
The cost of making quality, wild Chinese oud today is astronomical ($8,000 / kg for the cheapest grade available as we speak), for which you would need to acquire vintage harvests. Luckily, we didn’t have to distill Hainan 2005 this year or the last.
That you’re getting a bottle of 100% wild Chinese oud aged for over a decade makes it worth that much more on top. So, as far as the pricing on this one goes… Need I mention this is one of those things that is only done out of Love?
