Liquides Imaginaires
Liquides Imaginaires
92 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Port wine fumes hit first with genuine spiritous pungency, immediately brightened by the dried-fruit sweetness—there's an almost Sauternes-like richness here, honeyed and fermented. Within minutes, the wine's inherent dryness becomes apparent as the tannins assert themselves, establishing a leather-tobacco undertone before the floral and resinous heart has even fully emerged.
The cistus steps forward with a dusty, tobacco-leaf character that grounds the remaining wine notes into something earthier, whilst immortelle and balsam create a honeyed, almost amber-like warmth that prevents the composition from becoming austere. This is the phase where the 88% spicy accord reveals itself—not as black pepper or obvious spice, but as a subtle peppery dryness that keeps the sweetness from becoming cloying, the fragrance settling into a contemplative, woody-resinous groove.
Benzoin and vanilla emerge as the dominant players, but they're rendered lean and sophisticated rather than creamy—the woody notes have deepened and the resinous base has become almost leather-like in character. The dried fruits linger as a ghost of their former richness, now wedded to the vanilla and benzoin in a soft, almost powdery combination that smells less like a sweet conclusion and more like the memory of expensive leather aging gracefully.
Bello Rabelo announces itself as a fragrance for those who find elegance in fermentation and decay—not the garden-variety woody-spicy formula, but something with genuine vinous character. The port wine opening isn't a gimmick; it develops genuine tannin-like dryness as dried fruits (likely figs or dates, given that 76% fruity accord) layer underneath, creating a jammy opulence that never tips into dessert territory. This is where the balsam and cistus emerge as crucial mediators—cistus brings that leathery, almost-tobacco smokiness that prevents the wine notes from reading as overly confectionery, whilst the balsam adds a subtle resinous warmth that suggests old wood furniture rather than modern vanillic sweetness.
The personality here is distinctly cerebral and somewhat austere. This is a fragrance for the collector who appreciates wines with challenging tannins, who prefers their vanillas lurking in the shadows (that 52% sweet accord is restrained, almost grudging). Immortelle—that honeyed, maple-touched immortelle—acts as a tether to something more wearable, preventing the whole composition from drifting into pure olfactory intellectualism. The woody notes and benzoin create a resinous backbone that's both warm and dry simultaneously, a contradiction that somehow resolves into something quietly distinctive.
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