Oud de Carthage
Boucheron (2017)

A work of brazen self-plagiarism on Ropion's part, Oud de Carthage is just a slightly tweaked, leather-dominant Oud Malaki.

Compared to Oud Malaki, this has less smoky, dry spice and more floral tones, with the leather dominating the mid. The base skews more vanillic in Oud de Carthage. The oud in the name is most perceptible in the opening.

I like Oud Malaki, and I also like this. With the milder dose of spice, this might be the moderately more wearable option of the two, but it also misses a little bit of Oud Malaki's oompf.

This is a bit of a surprise from Ropion whom I associate with far sultrier things when it comes to ouds. Here, instead, we have a sweetish, greenwoods concoction. There's a sappy gentleness to the woody tones, with a bit of maturity thrown in from a buttery sandal note with a hint of coconut about it. Peppery nuances and some incense smoke dance in an out but the main event here is the pleasing evocation of just-stripped scented wood, with even the honey note reading more like a light resinous emanation of the wood itself rather than the cloying and buzzy animalic accent some might expect. The control of sweetness is just right, making the whole thing seem natural and unforced. Doesn't have the profundity of Ropion's more swoonsome creations but is well-constructed and with impeccable manners, so probably good for office wear too.

Buttery amber oud, quite nicely done.

The oud is very "upscale designer", inky and sharply leathery with saffron, somewhere between charcoal and a moist forest floor. I'm assuming the forward butter note is supposed to be sandalwood. It actually works quite well and is what keeps this from smelling like any other good-quality-but-not-particularly-original niche oud. The woody oud and the butter are cleverly tied together by amber elements, which give a sweet richness that grounds the wild shards of saffron that would be quite "stabby" without the amber.

If you're a fan of, say, Killian's ouds or the ones Ropion has done for Frederick Malle, you'll probably enjoy this. Nice.