Another Legend in the Making: Montblanc Legend Red

10 years ago Montblanc channelled a sense of purpose, confidence and conviction into a distinctive masculine fragrance, now the Montblanc Legend fragrance returns in a new iteration, bolder and more determined than ever. 

Ok so the above I lifted from the press release. I'm not sure how a fragrance can be determined, but I think you get the vibe. In this post I wanted to share with you some of my immediate thoughts when I first experienced this new iteration of the Montblanc Legend, Let's start by looking at the bottle shall we. 

The Design

Bearing classic Montblanc hallmarks the original design of the bottle has become a legendary as the fragrance itself with its curved solid shape and voluptuous smoothness reminiscent of the sensorial writing experience of the iconic Montblanc Meisterstück .

In its new iteration, the intensity of the red lacquered finish contrasts with a silver top to create a sleek, chic and modern look. The fragrance leans on its heritage and foregoes traditional methods of labelling or branding. 

The Fragrance

The perfumers Anne Flipo and Nicolas Beaulieu have managed to capture all its complexity and masculine intensity. It has a very citrusy opening enabled by the blood orange and zesty grapefruit blended with the spicy contrast of cardamom. It never falls-foul of erring on the anachronistic aromas that are prevalent in older fragrances, yet have not lost the signature DNA of what has made this Montblanc fragrance endure an entire decade.  A charismatic woody fragrance, fresh yet intense, bold yet sensitive, the olfactory experience evokes the thrill of speed and makes the heart beat a little faster. 

It has the vibrant buzz of an F1 pit lane, peppered with mechanics armed with diesel pumps and hydraulic instruments eagerly awaiting their driver to come in to the cries of the Race Engineers' 'box box box'. That anticipation that something is about to happen. The red is that thrill seeking element. The convivial undertones and that exclusive singular gender club. Is the pit lane the last bastion of masculinity? Probably not.

I digress. But that's what it does for me. The red is a sojourn to a place where man reconnects with his sense of adventure and feels that spine-shiver trepidation of meeting the unknown. What Henri Cartier-Bresson described as 'that decisive moment'. Where nothing after will be the same as all that befell the moment before.