Pergola by Exaltatum

I thoroughly tested Exaltatum perfumes only a month ago and four perfumes of this exquisite and rather new house left me deeply impressed. While I was testing Osmanthus Nobile (2018.), Ruby Wood (2018.), Pergola (2018.) and Mimosa Gold (December 2019.), Exaltatum launched the fifth member of the collection: St. Pauls (2020.).

I wondered whether I should start my thorough overview of the Exaltatum with the review of Pergola or the magnificent chocolate-coffee-incense-rose Ruby Wood, as I am equally overwhelmed by both. Then, unexpectedly, smitten by the layers of green, I spontaneously uttered Lorca:

Verde que te quiero verde.

So, Pergola, it is.

There are pergolas of all sizes and kinds: wisteria pergolas, the most common type in the Mediterranean, are grapevine pergolas; I’ve sat under a kiwi pergola, too… Every climbing plant will naturally embrace and wrap itself around this simple human-made structure.

From the simplest ones to the symbols of architectural magnificence, pergolas represent a true fusion of architecture and nature: the human-made structure supports the true nature of climbing plants.
In return, the green climbers build leafy, airy roofs, which shade the high noon during the summer or provide a place for the afternoon siesta. The old and strong pergolas even provide shelter from raindrops.

While the perfume’s original inspiration came from a poetic and romantic Pergola in London Hampstead Heath, my associations were different. Pergolas are common parts of Mediterranean traditional housing, as are porches in the American South.

My favourite coffee place in my small Istrian town has it. From mid-spring until late autumn, I drink my coffee in the open air, in the enveloping shade under the natural roof made of stem vignettes, vine leaves, and grapes.
The place I lived in also had a pergola, so my daily life under the pergola included watching the grapes turn from small and green to big, yellow and red.

Nature embracing a structure. 
A structure wrapped in nature. Exaltatum’s
Pergola honours exactly that fusion, too.

It is still grey mid-winter, but one whiff transported me in the mid-spring: 

The opening is grassy, bitterish, mossy and fresh. It feels like lying in moist, freshly grown grass, the one that leaves the green stains on clothes, those that just won’t come off… 

There is a slight citrusy tinge that sparkles the greens and makes literally every mossy, leafy, grassy nuance of green shine. 

The joy of rebirth develops into a green and flowery celebration, and I am truly smitten by its complexity: the flower bouquet in the heart of Pergola strongly evokes the grandeur of classic green florals: there are sumptuous narcissus and very green tuberose, a porcelain-like lily of the valley, and penetrating and opulent hyacinth.

Imagine all the flower power of the heralds of spring mixed and blended with thin woody saps and leaves of ivy, bitterish galbanum, fat and crisp saps of hyacinth and narcissus, airy violet leaves, dewy grass and moss, and green and a bit woody vetiver!

Verde, che te chiero verde…

Still, the greenness in the heart of Pergola does not shout. The flower’s expressiveness is tempered with fresh air and a creamy and velvety texture. In an ultimately sophisticated way, Pergola manages to evoke classic tradition and then twist it to meet the modern, more understated profile without losing its complexity.

The grandeur extends to the base: the structure holding the greens is built on balsams, moss, and musk. Aromatic, herbal, mossy, woody, and musky facets create a sense of space and depth.
Occasionally, I thought that Pergola got on the verge of being slightly restrained, but this hoovering feeling again evoked traditional sophistication.

Represented as a fougere, Pergola’s personality spreads and surpasses the whole classically green perfume group structure: it is a floral green with a chypre-ish touch, too.

Eglia Vaitkevice created a breathtakingly crisp, airy and enveloping perfume which truly honours the nature of all the pergolas everywhere:

With its fully ornamented structure supporting breathing, growing and spreading layers of green,  Pergola represents the fusion of modern and traditional, technical and artisanal, refined and natural.

I am smitten by Pergola, and poetry usually comes to my mind only when the perfume creation is complex, rounded, polished, and possesses a self-understandable timeless depth.

Verde, que te chiero, verde…

I honestly think Pergola is one of the green florals (bordering chypre, bordering fougere) every lover of classic green perfumes should try.