ROBERT GRECO
Rauque

2023

PERFUMER
Christopher Sheldrake

BLACKCURRANT BUD
Violet

CASSIA
NARCISSUS
OSMANTHUS
MYRRH
MUSHROOM

PINE TAR
AMBRAROME
LEATHER

‘Rauque – the French word for “hoarse” – because like a somnolent voice, I answered with foggy scenes the silences of a daily life that prohibitions let out of breath. (…) Rauque – L’Objet parfumant” was born from my encounter with perfumer Christopher Sheldrake. We have elaborated the olfactive creation as I was working on my visual creation. Not forbidding ourselves anything, we wanted to be driven by artistic baldness, and if our alphabet was made up of words and images, it sometimes included music and taste as well. « I would like the smell of a body about to implode! » this is how our olfactory exchange started. The waxy basement of a mushroom farm, a doughy Alep soap, a sticky piece of leather left in the back of a stable, the muzzle of a cow, an old box of Japanese incense smelling of ancient and dust, flowers marked by the patina of time or forgotten fruits with carnal accents, we censored nothing to best convey the idea of a feverish body surrounded by sleepy lives. Odd ideas and risky materials abound, but Christopher’s mastery was the safeguard, nothing was to fear, everything would be enhanced.’ – Robert Greco

I was instantly charmed by Rauque when I sprayed it on. Straight away you feel that this has a similar yesteryear’s quality that was also found in the previous Robert Greco, Oeilleres.

Actually, despite Oeilleres being made by a different perfumer, both releases have a ‘spicy hay’ vibe going on. However, whereas I found Oeilleres quite daring with its cumin, Rauque is more up my alley.

The first thing that Rauque made me think of was tobacco. That hay-like, barnyard (actual barn, not fecal) setting with a warmth and spiciness. There’s a bit more sweetness to it as well and a smoky edge. This I could also picture as a strong, slightly bitter tea.

I love the texture achieved by Sheldrake here. Nothing sticks out or clashes, and at the same time I feel the perfume is dusty and dry (grassy), while also being smooth and resinous.

There is a hint of fruitiness, but don’t expect a full-on fruit basket. A sliver of brightness and acidity from a blackcurrant-esque scent, but overall, this is a darker scent profile. Or perhaps I should say, moody. Definitely a melancholic, contemplative scent in my experience.

There’s one element that keeps rearing its head that is hard to place. It makes me think of (chili) peppers, bell pepper, paprika, olive?… green, slick, spicy. That same facet at times also recalls gasoline in the way that Dior Fahrenheit does. Most similar to me, is the drydown of Gallivant Accra perhaps, but that’s about it as far as modern references I can come up with for Rauque.

It dries down more easy going; softer, still very smooth, but also relatively sweet (although still very mild in comparison to most contemporary fragrances). More focused on the warmer base and losing the greener and animalic edges.

This is the first time in 2024 that being on a ‘no buy’ streak for fragrances hurts a bit. It also doesn’t help that this is a limited edition of 500, which is going in and out of stock around the time of my review. It’s not the type of fragrance that I would typically look for and I don’t know how often I would wear it, but it’s definitely a work of art that I wouldn’t mind having in my collection.