Year: 2008
Notes: bergamot, bitter orange, coriander, cypress, cinnamon, clove, cocoa, frankincense, vanilla, oakmoss, sandalwood
Comment: Satori is part of the Black Collection and is only available in Japan
"[Agarwood] is known to have five tastes: spicy, bitter, sweet, sour, and salty. I have expressed the five tastes by blending cinnamon and clove for spiciness, cacao for bitterness, and vanilla for sweetness. Sourness and saltiness was added with a delicate amount of bitter orange, oak tree, moss, and cypress..." (sic)
~ Satori Osawa
Starting out with a creamy citrus aroma, Satori is a genteel and slightly sweet woody-oriental, which attempts to replicate the integral agarwood accord found in Japanese incense (known as Kyara aloeswood). Initially, it's not as interesting as the official notes might suggest. Exuding faint glimmers of spices, woods and vanilla, the herbaceous aspect is relatively muted and the frankincense too transparent.
With a mild cocoa chord interweaving throughout, one is able to acknowledge the spicy, sweet and somewhat salty attributes but not the sour or bitter aspects. But, during the drydown, a delicious woody-balsamic aroma suddenly materialises and, to a certain degree, makes up for this disappointing olfactory experience.
In spite of such a turnaround, one wouldn't strictly deem it as a bona fide agarwood offering but it's still a noble interpretation nevertheless. As for its performance on the flesh, let's just say that it's as enigmatic as the trails of ethereal incense smoke permeating a Buddhist temple...
~ Satori Osawa
Starting out with a creamy citrus aroma, Satori is a genteel and slightly sweet woody-oriental, which attempts to replicate the integral agarwood accord found in Japanese incense (known as Kyara aloeswood). Initially, it's not as interesting as the official notes might suggest. Exuding faint glimmers of spices, woods and vanilla, the herbaceous aspect is relatively muted and the frankincense too transparent.
With a mild cocoa chord interweaving throughout, one is able to acknowledge the spicy, sweet and somewhat salty attributes but not the sour or bitter aspects. But, during the drydown, a delicious woody-balsamic aroma suddenly materialises and, to a certain degree, makes up for this disappointing olfactory experience.
In spite of such a turnaround, one wouldn't strictly deem it as a bona fide agarwood offering but it's still a noble interpretation nevertheless. As for its performance on the flesh, let's just say that it's as enigmatic as the trails of ethereal incense smoke permeating a Buddhist temple...
* A special thanks goes out to Mihoko for making this review possible.
