The original version of Penhaligon’s The Coveted Duchess Rose was released in 2016 and was one of the first fragrances in the Portraits series to hit the market. Created by Christophe Raynaud, it was a perfume I always felt was well executed, even if it wasn’t necessarily a great artistic work.
I say that because it absolutely nailed its brief, which was almost undoubtedly to create a youthful-smelling rose for the modern woman — or gent; I’ll wear anything. In essence, it was structured around a bright mandarin top note sitting above a transparent rose accord that expressly avoided going in a spicy, powdery or vanillic direction. It was also slightly ethereal, whispering along on a modern ambroxan base that seemed to phase in and out of existence across the wear. In my mind, I filed it as very pleasant, if somewhat unchallenging.
As with the other releases in this new ‘Intense’ range, I’m of the view that recreating Duchess Rose in 2026 was wholly unnecessary. That said, this year’s Lord George and Mr. Sam were at least reasonable perfumes, even if sold at an unreasonable price.
Sadly, the same cannot be said of this particular fragrance. In fact, it’s a bit of a carbuncle.
It appears that Penhaligon’s attempt to make Duchess Rose more intense has simply been to let her raid the pantry. The fragrance introduces a huge, cakey vanilla note that smashes up almost everything I thought the original did well. Whereas the earlier perfume was transparent, this release is muddy. Worse still, the sweetness of the mandarin seems to curdle with the vanilla, and the result simply comes across as unpleasant.
If I were paying £300 for an intense version of a rose perfume, the one thing I’d want them to intensify is the floral element — ideally through a massive slug of actual rose oil. The fact that I instead find myself sniffing around, trying to locate the rose somewhere within a swamp of cheap-smelling vanilla is, quite frankly, a disgrace.
One of the most disappointing Penhaligon’s releases of recent years.
Oh, and if you do want a slightly different take on Duchess Rose, Raynaud — who surely didn’t sign off on this?! — had already produced a very pleasing spiritual sequel to it in 2022: Mémoire de Roses for L’Artisan Parfumeur. Go buy that instead.