Salute

Just yesterday, I came across a curious news story on my Google suggestions homepage: a Portuguese town was flooded by 3 million bottles' worth of red wine after a tank at a local winery burst. With blood-red liquid flowing through the streets, the pictures looked apocalyptic, and readers were presented with the most bizarre news story since Trump left office. This is what came to mind upon my (unintentionally impeccably timed) testing of this scent. Salute! is a strange, surprising scent that is unlike any I have previously tried - it smells just like the dregs of a bottle of red wine. The listed wine lees note, one I've never come across in perfumery before, makes a lot of sense. There are fruity nuances and a chypre base, but ultimately, it is bang on theme, and not very wearable as a result. Still, I enjoy a glass of red, and deeply appreciate the artistry here. Salute! resembles red wine from initial spray, boozy and fruity with a dense, dark undertone. The citrus notes up top "round out the bouquet" (I am no sommelier despite my perfume habits), but they don't do much to take from the wine quality at the heart of this scent. Rooty, powdery iris comes to the fore as it develops, a surprisingly good accompaniment to the heavy red wine. The grape leaves enhance the wine accord, bringing the vineyard effect alongside the oak note. It certainly becomes increasingly green as it progresses. The drydown is an ink-dark chypre, woody and mossy, complementing the red wine to perfection. It fades to a musky, earthy skin scent, wine-like until final fade. Sillage is moderate and longevity is long-lasting. Given the vineyard theme, it feels like a scent for warm seasons despite its chypre darkness. In my opinion, it is a unisex, transeasonal day scent. Red wine via the vineyard, Salute is an olfactory artwork that, while difficult to wear, is immensely likeable and very well-crafted. Perfectly evocative of its theme, I would have called this one Bacchus. I actually kind of love it. 4.5/5.

Whoa, that's one of a kind - never felt anything like that before. It does smell of wine lees and grape leaves, like, it actually does. There's also a lot of iris powder here. In the opening it even has a prosecco, or, be aware of this, in the opening you might smell like a person who had too much of prosecco. That fades away very quickly though and in my opinion, adds a natural, and an interesting aspect to the composition. The backbone is woody but not in a woody log way, more of a broken main stem? centre? (sorry, not a native speaker) of a bush and an oak stump. Like a wood of vines, not cedar. The base is surprisingly dry, powdery, Woody, maybe earthy a bit. A really interesting, unisex, and while light composition - I don't think it's good for heat. I think the grapey, leafy, woody character suits the autumn best, especially with the iris powder. Unisex, 7+h, strong, very strong for 3h, then moderate projection with a long trail. If you don't go heavy you might even wear this to the office. Don't blind buy, it's not a grape fanta. It's a grape Vines, wood, and leaves. I have to admit the packaging is cheap and to be improved - the cap seems heavy and metal on photo, but in reality is a light plastic covered in thin metal that slides into place. The bottle is well, OK? It's a cylinder with some blue lines tower print but the sticker fits loosely on my bottler out of the box - it's probably gonna come off.

An uplifting perfume. Luminous, joyous, easygoing. A chocolate-like opening brings instant smile. A wine-like quality weaves throughout the entire journey, convivial but never drunk. The composition may be complex but the final effect is one of simplicity and transparency. It continues the evolution of the brand since Le Cri de la Lumière towards a style of luminosity and cheerfulness. Parfum d’Empire has found its own style, and stopped following the footsteps of Serge Lutens (Ambre Russe/Ambre Sultan, Aziyade/Arabie, Cuir Ottoman/Cuir Mauresque, Musc Tonkin/Musc Kublaï Khan, Wazamba/Fille en Aiguille...).

Oh I love this opening. I love and appreciate a good glass of red wine, but alas my tolerance is one glass max. This perfume satisfies that love to a degree. I stop being able to smell this one after less than an hour. That is so sad because it just leaves me wanting more, just like red wine....cry face. I just keep spritzing I guess. I only have a sample. I'd buy a bottle if the dry red wine notes carried longer. Maybe it's just my nose?

a dark, smooth opening. kinda resembles chocolate but you need a bit of imaginations to find that chocolatey taste. and after that, it's simply a bottle of fizzy moscato. sweet, boozy, sparkling. it settles to a powdery grape smell after 3~4 hours.

Best wine scent you can find. It's bright and shining, very different from the gloomy spicy wine in Nobile Rudis and also the dusty old wine in Bello Rabello. Another masterpiece from Corticchiato. 10/10

If Dionysus wore a fragrance, it would be the Salute d'Empire.

Salute! doesn't have much to do with wine. I suppose that's appropriate given that when some people say salute to each other it has far less to do with the beverage in hand than it does wishing them well. There is a bright levity, an optimism, that comes with saying salute to someone... but it takes a minute to get there. Firstly, the opening is a hefty blast of galbanum and orris. It is bitter, boozy, starchy, dry, waxy, woody - it's a lot of things, actually. If it weren't so dry this could be the inside of a wine barrel, the tannicky bitterness mingling with the wood oils that seeped into the wine, and the bitter sediment of yeast bodies, tartrates, and bits of the grapes. Perhaps a cask that was filled with Corsican wine smells like this, but this is not like any French or American-filled wine cask that I have smelled since it lacks nearly any sort of deep fruitiness. It is superbly striking though, a stellar example of the wonderful overlap that bitter green notes and iris can have. But then, we start gearing up for the salute. Bright orange and lemon elements start to rise upwards, a light beige and stiff oakwood accord begins to spread in the underlayer of the perfume, soapy musks fill in the gaps by providing a launching point for the citrusy elements and the lightening hues to the oakwood. The levity is building, the energy rising, optimism brewing - the table of friends and family are ready to launch out of their chairs, raise their glasses in the air, and wish all good health and prosperity. Salute! stays here for the majority of its life, a permanent suspension in time of that joyful moment when well wishes fill the air. Salute! is quite an odd perfume to smell. Galbanum, citruses, orris, musks, and woods are far from being strange pairings but the staccato nature and punchiness of their delivery in Salute! is never quite what you'd expect from a perfume with this pyramid and structure. As mentioned above, where Salute! stays for the majority of its life is quite simple and very pleasant, there is nothing weird or challenging about citrusy white soap musks and woods, but getting there is a trip. That's not unlike a meal or a gathering of my family or friends, I suppose. At some points or it might start off as being a bit difficult, weird, or pushy, but by the end we're all smiles, energy and optimism are high, and all is right with the world.

It’s first days of proper spring warmth where I am at right now, one of those weekends when socialising is on the plate but regretlessly dismissed, a mindfully lazy day. Currently 3 PDE scents at hand - a purchased mal aime and samples of aziyade and salute. Salute was the last in line to try on. I feel so eager to jump to conclusions about Mr. Corticchiato’s style and I will allow myself that for the first impressions are usually true and all three perfumes of his that I possess speak very different stories but in astoundingly characteristic language. Mr. Corticchiato is a seasoned hedonist and a faithful painter with a romantic soul. I think he’s one of those people, whose art is the art of living. He also understands luxury in classic terms but a broader sense of it as well. So far, all three aforementioned perfumes immediately smell expensive, not in the way of opulence or raw materials, but by masterfully utilising restraint as a means of expression. Restraint, thus, here is really a liberation. It would’ve been so easy to go over the top and suffocate people with these complex rich aromatics - a practice that many, for some unfathomable reason, seem to enjoy. However, salute is so well rounded at the edges it must take experience to be able to appreciate fully. I’m not talking about experience in perfumery, which I lack compared to even many of the casual enthusiasts, but life experience in general, trials and errors around the core of what you deem to be your true taste which, ultimately, has to become a continuation of your personality. Salute is a delicious plum compote on one side, a wet cork of san giovese on the other, a sun warm tomato vine, a finest lemon peel, tanned leather. A scent so warm, I can bet my skin is lit up where it sits. Perhaps more importantly at this point, is that it manages to be intriguing, wearable, non offensive, indulgent, personal, no nonsense, projecting, skin colouring. It pulls off so many things at once, whilst doing them all so fantastic, that you must be totally ignorant not to appreciate the depth of the character behind it. Had I not decided on getting aziyade already (damn shawty), I would’ve had to get this. It was a good day to try salute. If you find yourself smelling on a dry glass of red wine hours and days after the liquid evaporated - try it.

I've tried 4 Parfum d'Empire fragrances and they are all of very high quality and authentic-smelling notes. All of them give you a realistic experience that takes you to a certain place or a certain time. Back in my home country, they gather unripe sour grapes during the season, juice them, and store the juice to use as a souring agent, like lemons, for the whole year. The juice is very sour with no sweetness at all and has a characteristic smell and taste of grape skins and leaves. When I first smelled this, it immediately transported me to my grandparents' home where they used to juice the grapes at home and the smell was exactly like this. The smell of grape lees and vines starts from the very beginning till the end. At the opening, it is mixed with a slight citrusy sourness that complements the sourness of the grapes without overtaking the opening. After some time, this sourness will tone down, while the woody grape vines and oak become more prominent with some sweetness, transferring you to a setting under a grapevine on a Mideterreanen farm. It is a very unique fragrance that I recommend trying at least once. It has very good longevity, but it sets mostly on the skin. However, I do not think I need to get a full bottle of this because I cannot find a use of it aside from using it every now and then to feel nostalgia for a place I cannot visit anymore.

Salute is a very interesting fragrance. It starts off w/ a tart lemon and grapefruit. Mouthwatering. As it goes on a bit there is this chocolate nuance that comes and mingles w/ wine. It smells like wine and chocolate, a rich dark chocolate. I get a bit of powder from Iris, but it is subdued, more of a dry and aromatic powder, nothing talc like or overly feminine. I also smell the distinctive woody smell of oak and the earthiness of oakmoss. This is quite oaky and very mossy. There is a touch of musk in the dry down, but this fragrance isn't overly musky. Salute really smells like being outdoors at a fancy winery, crushing grapes, going to the cellar and smelling the oak barrels the wine is housed in while drinking red wine and eating dark chocolate. But in a perfume way. This isn't a candle scent; it is really very well-made w/ high quality ingredients. I do like Salute, but I find it leans masculine. If you want something that is very different from what is on the market today, if you like to stand out from the crowd but want to do it in an understated, classy yet naturalistic way, Salute is a really good way to go. Rustic, yet upscale at the same time.

When you go to a fine dining restaurant, there is a fermented smell coming from opened wines. Salute takes you there directly. At the opening, there are fruity citrus accord and alcoholic wine like accord greet us, then as time passes, the fruity accord disappears and leaves a scent reminiscent of a steep woody barrel in the background. But there is a smell of a place in the perfume, so I compared it to a fine dining restaurant. Strangely, aside from the alcohol, smell in the background reminded me of Nishane Wulong Cha which also reminded me of luxury hotels in Asia. Salute doesn't smell like Wulong tea, of course, but they definitely have something in common. Projection is good for the first 3 hours, then it is close to the skin. Longevity is between 8-10 hour on skin.

Citrusy, soapy clean, green notes, woody notes, some earthy notes, and some powdery notes. It smells nice, but very uninspiring. One part shaving soap, one part citrus, one part woods. 6/10. An nice fragrance with a good scent. Perfect for every day wear. Not for nicheheads.

A vinous and chypre rose, lit up with citrus, iridescent and musky notes, the woody base has a powdery effect almost dusty like cocoa, for a cheerful and luminous result. exploring the synergy in winemaking of how they smell and taste.

I felt a strong fresh opening, which was promising but now 15 min or so on my wrist I barely sense it. It is so subtle that I literally struggle to smell it.

Oh so bitter and woody. A bit medicinal herbal. What a moody fragrance.

Bitterness is likely the most neglected taste/ smell for most people, with plenty of plants out there ready to give a unique, if not immediately enjoyable and accessible experience when first eaten or smelled. I dare say I think bitter notes are amongst the most diverse, generally having less in common with one-another than do all sweet notes or all sour notes. And yet, there's a strange thing that happens with some oakmoss-laden scents (or, in this case... wine lees?) where I cannot for the life of me get my nose away from the smell of dark chocolate. Not the whole thing, mind you - just a fraction of the overall chocolate profile which contains all the bitterness but none of the delight. I swear to god I smell chocolate when I smell this fragrance (and, incidentally, also Chypre Mousse by Oriza L. Legrand and Mito by Vero Profumo). While I CAN also get some citrus, it's this not-quite-chocolate smell that sticks out like a sore thumb for me in all of these fragrances. I love to be disturbed by the perfumes I own/ wear, but I just cannot take this particular suite of bitter notes... I find it somehow too distracting, too gross, too "soiled" to be able to enjoy with the kind of pleasure one expects to find in a strange herb (or wine sediment). This, and the other scents I've mentioned, are certainly fascinating... but I think lack (a note I don't much care for) patchouli to balance the oakmoss bitterness. I may be mistaken though. I love to put this on, thinking I'll understand it, then always end up running away with my tail between my legs.

Initially fresh and citrussy but then veering into a strange soapy-boozy mix, like a dishwasher in a winery. It's all very bucolic but also a bit disconcerting. Do I want to smell like a bottle of detergent or a stale wine glass? Unlike so many of Marc-Antoine Corticchiato's creations this fragrance never escapes from the laboratory into the sweeping landscape of his beloved Corsica. That sticky-stale smell of the wine cellar becomes rather oppressive until (mercifully soon) it begins to fade away.

A unique scent which I think not everyone will find it pleasant. I smell like I was thrown into a oak barrel filled with wine and struggled to get out. Something in the dry-down is very shampoo-y (not soapy). Overall it smells like wine and shampoo mixture on my skin. I don't think this one is as refined as other creations from Parfum d'Empire.

I’ve never hated a scent as much as this. I immediately threw away my sample. It’s definitely interesting and I’m sure it will appeal to some. But for my nose, this was terrible. Definitely do not blind buy.