Vienna 1900

The opening is very cool and damp, almost wet. I imagine freshly turned soil in a shaded, cool temperate forest setting. The soil is damp (not wet) and drops of mint infused water have been sprinkled on the fresh upturned earth. The patchouli smells sweet, earthy and vaguely chocolatey. Deeper inhalations capture a slight, somewhat mentholated sensation. There is a cool freshness/dampness and a slight berry sweetness that hides behind a porous veil. It maintains its cool, green forest vibe until somehow it morphes into a dry-down of what I can only describe as a vague, sweet and semi-herbal, flashback of a day old vintage Antaeus dry-down. This is patchouli done correctly, magnificently. I had to re-learn/clean my patchouli palate after years of smelling San Francisco hippies doused in heavy, medicinal patchouli mixed with sharp, putrid body funk. Vienna 1900 is unique to my nose and quite stimulating, enlivening. A cerebral boost. It does not elicit sensations that I would call cozy, sensual or romantic . For me I would use the words boost, energize, uplift, stimulate, refresh, etc.

Finally gave this a full wear and was so very please with the performance, intensity and scent. My gosh it is beautiful and like nothing else. Very natural smelling. Very well blended. Breaking the notes down is quite difficult for me. Patchouli is dominant, it is dewy, sweet and liqueur like. Not boozy but smells like a fine bottle of sweet liqueur. Difficult to compare.

An interesting one, mint chocolate and patchouli blast from the outset that gets earthier as time goes on. A slight cannibis type feel is around it, but not enough to make you smell like you've been smoking a load of the stuff. Gives off a nice natural feel. This is good, but I think I would want a decant than a full bottle, it seems more of a one off to wear every now and again than a mainstay.

Vienna 1900 made me realise there’s mint perfumes, and then there’s MINT perfumes. The mint in here is brutal, obnoxiously strong and in a lot of ways simply too much. However, it does smell amazingly natural and vibrant, like the leaves are right there in front of your nose. Matthew Meleg claims to use 3 different types of patchouli here, although does not list exactly which types. Given patchouli is a part of the mint family, I can see how seamlessly it integrates with the mint and provides that punchy earthiness to the scent. This dark, earthy aspect is elevated by a very subtle dark chocolate accord, which isn’t too noticeable to me. Overall this is a very interesting fragrance. I don’t like mint at the best of times and so this simply isn’t wearable for me, but if you’re a lover of mint this is undoubtedly one of the highest quality examples of it I’ve ever come across.

Opens with the musky tang of patchouli, sharp and soapy. It combines with the mint for an almost bergamot-like freshness, but with more of a muted and mulchy undertone that's all patchouli. Based on notes and accords, I might've thought Vienne 1900 would be a fairly dark and heavy scent, but I don't get that from it at all. Instead, it opens soapy, fresh, and crisp. Then the dry down hits, and Vienna shifts rapidly, turning from fresh, soapy, and grassy, into a smooth, muted, earthy scent, like chalky potters clay, and line-dried linens. You're bathing in an outdoor clawfoot tub. There's a slippery bar of white soap that keeps disappearing into the bathwater, and a stack of newly line-dried clothes resting on a wooden chair beside the tub. Nearby, a fallow field was recently mown, and the clippings left to mulch.

Only Meleg I did not like so far... Opens too minty; like a peppermint candy. I could not smell anything else. I was expecting sweet chocolate and hippy patchouli. The clash between expectation and reality is what causes my dislike. Very Cherry Rose Chocolate Patchouli is a more recent Meleg creation which I enjoyed a lot more. It is not on Fragrantica but you will find it on Meleg's Etsy store. Meleg is still a genius. I highly recommend you buy the samples.

Earthy patchouli with a lot of mint and a hint of berries and amber. Dark chocolate? Not really. I generally like woody fragrances with patchouli but this one has an herbal note that isn't for me. There is no sweetness in the amber and berries.

This one is for patch heads only. Patchouli is a note I’m sensitive too. It gets very medicinal on me and overwhelms everything else in the composition unless dialed way back. Here, I can’t smell anything but nuclear patchouli that won’t go away. I’ve got the sample set from this house and so far I have been blown away by both the quality of the materials and the exquisite blending. The fragrances are very wearable and beautiful and the generous use of rare animalics, precious woods and IFRA banned muscs make this line a “must try” among indie perfumeries but also a monument to all that has been lost in modern perfumery.

Really love the minty opening on this one. This note to me is very balanced between minty green ness and spearmint like sweetness. Very erudite use of Mitti attar for that earthy petrichor feel. Quality of Pathchouli used compliments the whole fragrance. One of my favorites in the current collection. If you are a pathhead, please give this one a go. Brilliant work done on these by Mr. Meleg.