Perched on the edge of the Turkish section of the Euphrates clings to a hillside the pretty village of Halfeti; its stepped terraces and picturesque stone buildings descending the rocky hillside to lap the turquoise waters of the river. This though is only “New” Halfeti. Beneath the surface of the Euphrates rests the drowned remains of “Old” Halfeti, its rooftops and terraces just visible beneath the surface, the towering minaret of its mosque the only reminder above the surface of the old town.
Famous now for its sunken ruins, Halfeti once had a more illustrious claim to fame, one that put it on the map of all antiquarian traders – its roses. Called kara gül in Turkish, these fabled roses have an almost mythical quality; a rich wine-coloured red in full bloom, their buds emerge from the protection of their sepals a deep shade of jet black. That’s right, black roses. And it is in these black roses that Penhaligon’s found inspiration for Halfeti. From the brand’s Trade Routes collection which celebrates the exotic treasures once traded through London’s historic docks, Halfeti captures the essence of these kara gül whose dried and pressed buds where worth their weight in gold in Victorian England.
A sort of trader’s chest of treasures itself, Penhaligon’s offers this in the way of an official notes list:
grapefruit, bergamot, green notes, armoise, cypress, cumin, nutmeg, violet, saffron, rose, jasmine, lily-of-the-valley, leather, oud, amber, resins, tonka, vanilla, sandalwood
This seems a little too abundant in my experience. What I do get from Halfeti is:
grapefruit, oud, saffron, rose, cypress, artemisia, nutmeg, cardamom, leather, ISO E Super, tonka
As a composition Halfeti is expansive, exotic too in keeping with its inspiration. Opening big and in-your-face with a dry leather accord fashioned tart with grapefruit, warmed by the gentle orientalism of nutmeg, rendered woody by an almost suffocating does of ISO E Super, the opening gives the impression of lifting the flap on a leather saddlebag to be struck by the aromatic pungency of its exotic contents. Quickly, saffron joins the fray, imparting on the opening further aridness. As much as I enjoy Halfeti, I find the opening confrontational. It is too masculine, too powerful, too sharp for my liking – something I can picture the old men that tend to Halfeti’s few remaining rosebushes might wear, but not me. Nevertheless, grin and bear it I do, knowing that what’s to come is worth suffering through the opening.
When the central rose accord does finally emerge from behind the longwinded opening, it is indeed beautiful, enough so to make me forgive Halfeti its opening. A deep crimson Turkish rose darkened by the bitter greenness of artemisia, Halfeti’s rose accord is velvety as it is rich, intense as it is captivating. The Victorian floral posy promised by Penhaligon’s is non-existent here; no violet, no lily-of-the-valley and certainly no jasmine, just the singularly beautiful rose standing tall on its woody stem. Then, plucked from the heart, the rose sinks into Halfeti’s enveloping base much the same way the eponymous village did; the rose is swept away in a deluge of culinary spices, drowned in the depths of oud and ever sweetening tonka.
A dark, moody fragrance with mystery enough to invite intrigue from its wearer and those that cross the boundaries of its sillage, Penhaligon’s Halfeti succeeds in paying homage to its namesake village and the black roses for which it is famed. Nothing succeeds like excess, right? Well, that certainly seems to have been Penhaligon’s logic in crafting this excessively lush and exotic rose-saffron-oud powerhouse. Yes, the opening is troublesome, the vast quantity of ISO E Super too, but beyond that, forgiven it those faults, Halfeti is intensely rich, exquisitely crafted and one of the better dry ouds there is.
Year of Release: 2015
Perfumer: Christian Provenzano
Alternatives: Montale Oud Dream, Rasasi Sotoor Waaw
Available: Libertine Parfumerie and www.penhaligons.com for $329, 100ml