Madras Cardamom
Ermenegildo Zegna (2019)

A very refined concoction of cardamom, cedar, vetiver, and coffee. As a person that cannot withstand heavily oversaturated cardamom fragrances , I can't help but appreciate the allure and complexity of Zegna's cardamom themed creation. In short, this seems to be Zegna's answer to Oud Wood, but instead Madras Cardamom is predominantly a dry cedar fragrance, with vetiver as a supporting role (and of course a huge emphasize on cardamom). However, the cardamom here is a different take and unlike any other I've smelled before. The cardamom here is very fresh, unripe, bitter and herbaceous. Very realistic as if the cardamom pods were freshly plucked from the plants themselves and wrapped in haitian vetiver, covered with planks of cedar. The coffee provides an obfuscation element of smoke, that really gives the impression of incense. The vanilla acts mostly as a supporting layer, and aids in rounding off the base. Overall, the scent comes off as classy, reserved and stylish, as expected from the house of Zegna.

Madras Cardamom opens with a very brief blast of sharp citrus bergamot that quickly couples with powerful nose tingling warm cardamom spice with a moderately sweet coffee-like accord undertone before transitioning to its heart. As the composition enters its early heart the warm cardamom spice from the open slightly softens, remaining in relative strength as the moderately sweet coffee-like accord gains potency as it becomes co-star, with significant just slightly synthetic smelling polished cedar wood support. During the late dry-down the cedar wood remains, shedding its detectable synthetic qualities, as remnants of the now significantly diminished coffee accord join with soft, non-powdery vanilla that becomes the star through the finish. Projection is good and longevity outstanding at over 20 hours on skin.

During my latest trip to Las Vegas I tried to hit the usual suspects to see if there were any relatively new releases of interest. Most of what I sniffed that was relatively new did not impress enough to merit further attention, but my trip to the Zegna store yielded a number of pleasant new surprises with its generally perpetually impressive private Essenze line, and Madras Cardamom led the pack, earning it a trial on skin for the day.

As soon as you spray Madras Cardamom on skin powerful warm cardamom spice asserts itself big time. It would be all too easy to have the spice get completely out of control, but the perfumer, Marie Salamagne, deftly uses a very unique smelling sweetened coffee-like accord to counter the warm spice without letting the sweetness go too far either. When cedar shows up in support, it first starts off with a bit of a synthetic bent but never in a bad way, only turning more natural smelling as time passes. By the time the perfume reaches its late dry-down the cedar, coffee and now vanilla all combine seamlessly to form an extremely pleasant smelling lengthy finish. It is safe to say that of all the new releases I tried during my Vegas trip Madras Cardamom was the most impressive. That said, I am a bit surprised at how much I love this one, as its semi-gourmand fragrance profile is definitely not a natural fit for my preferences. I can only credit some really good blending techniques by the perfumer to come up with such a winning concoction that won over this sweetness averse writer to even buy a bottle of the stuff. The bottom line is the $250 per 100ml EdP bottle "excellent" 4 stars out of 5 rated Madras Cardamom is a superb example of a semi-gourmand that exudes refinement and class, able to even win over wearers that generally dislike the category, earning it a strong recommendation to all.

Amazing fragrance. One of the best ever owned. Masculine, spicy with some hint of bergamot freshness and subtle. It doesn't hit you in the face which is the biggest problem with most masculine scents but the nice elegance fills the room and you wonder what is this wonderful, pleasant smell. I won some of the collection of Zegna's line but this is probably the best along with Neroli which is more a casual wear while this is a good formal elegant scent. I'll keep buying this as long as available.

From another source, the notes for Zegna Madras Cardamom are top notes: Cardamom, Pink Pepper and Bergamot; middle notes: Coffee and Virginian Cedar, base notes: Vetiver, Labdanum, Vanilla and Ambroxan.

I have worn this fragrance for a couple of years now and never realized it had coffee as a note until writing this review. I categorize this fragrance as a BIG SPICE, and thats what I like about it. The cardamom dominates the spice blend with a hard dark metallic density that covers the light scintillating Baies Rose/ pink pepper for a single note of dark warm spice. The spice warmth comes from the labdanum and vanilla at the base with sparkling bergamot heart that together with Ambroxan propel this dark spice to soar. Madras Cardamom is a reliable dark spice, winter friendly fragrance. Like many of these Zegna Essenze fragrances distribution is weak and it is very difficult to find a bottle of this nowadays. A very good masculine spice blend. Rating 3 / 5.