Legend Red Eau de Parfum

Blood orange is what you notice first about Montblanc Legend Red Eau de Parfum, and it is the reason this stands apart from the rest of the range rather than simply extending it.

That opening is juicy and slightly bitter, with the dark red sweetness blood orange has and ordinary citrus does not. Grapefruit sharpens it further and cardamom brings a cool, dry spice in behind, so the first ten minutes are bright without being innocent. The middle turns resinous. Juniper berry is the standout, cool and piney with that gin like bite, clary sage adds a herbal dryness, and cedarwood begins the long descent into the base. It is a clean, slightly austere middle section that keeps the fruit from taking over.

The base is where the fragrance is built to live. Atlas cedar is dry and aromatic, mahogany is the unusual one, a smooth, polished, varnished timber smell rather than a splintery one, and tonka bean takes the hard edges off with a dry, dusky sweetness. The result is warm and smooth and lasts a long time. Nine materials, carefully placed, with no filler. At this strength it carries well for the first hour and then stays close for the rest of the day, so two sprays is plenty. Autumn and winter suit it, it works for evenings and for the office alike, and it suits men after something richer than Legend without going dark. It is the one bottle in the range that works as well with a jacket as it does with a jumper.

Anne Flipo and Nicolas Beaulieu composed it and it was released in 2022. Montblanc is a German luxury goods maker based in Hamburg and a division of Richemont, and its perfume is handled by a licensee rather than made in house.