Note Pyramid
Pioggia Forte
Musk is usually saved for the end, yet Filippo Sorcinelli Pioggia Forte Extrait de Parfum 50ml puts it at the top alongside the spices, which is the first sign that this one is not laid out the way you expect. The opening is sharp and strange. Black pepper and cardamom arrive dry and prickling, jasmine comes in far earlier than it normally would with its heady white richness, and musk underpins all three from the first minute, giving the start a warm skin quality instead of the usual cold citrus snap. It is an odd combination and it works.
The middle is greener and cooler. Mate is the material that gives this its character, the herbal tea note, bitter and hay dry with a faint smokiness about it, and geranium sharpens it with a sharp green bite of its own. Ambrette adds a soft, slightly nutty, seed like warmth that keeps the bitterness from biting, and lily of the valley lifts the whole heart with a cool dewy freshness that reads almost like damp air. Elemi alone makes the base, which is unusually spare. It is a resin with a lemony, peppery brightness to it rather than a heavy one, so instead of settling into warmth the fragrance thins out into something clear and slightly cool. That is an unusual ending and it is the main reason this bottle gets talked about.
As an extrait it carries a high oil load, which here means hours of close, steady wear rather than a loud first impression. The LAVS workshop that Filippo Sorcinelli opened in 2001, in Mondolfo in the Marche, sews liturgical vestments by hand and has dressed the Vatican. He came to perfume in 2014. The scents take their cues from the buildings he works in and the instruments he plays.
Please note: images are a guide only. Packaging and bottle design may occasionally differ from those shown due to manufacturer updates or promotions.
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