Autumn 24

The door to the kitchen stands open. A basket of quinces, freshly picked, sits on the windowsill, and the scent of warming spices drifts from the stove. Shafts of light break through the cloistered darkness, while ribbons of saffron flame red against an oak table, blackened with use and pressed by many hands.

It is into this kitchen scene, resembling a Dutch still life, that we invite you to step with our Autumn 24 fragrance.

Our journey begins with the fruit of the season: the quince. Harvested in late October, it carries with it a multiplicity of scents. In its raw state the waxy skin is lightly floral, almost pear-like, which is perhaps why quinces were once used to perfume linen cupboards. Cooked, though, the grainy white flesh becomes amber and emits an enigmatic aroma.

Quince itself has no essential oil, so to capture its many facets we turned to the delicate tones of jasmine, neroli and davana, pairing them with caraway, aniseed and carrot seed for their earthy and softly spiced notes.

We were happy with this accord for the raw fruit, but in our kitchen the quince is gently simmering too, filling the air with furls of steam, nectar-sweet and velvety. Myrrh, nutmeg and olibanum brought the alchemy we were seeking, transporting us momentarily to the other side of the world.

Yet there was a dark, almost leathery element that seemed missing, another layer of honey and spice. We found this in a deep crimson oil we have long been wanting to use: saffron, once worth its weight in gold.

Saffron’s great expense lies in the time it takes to extract the flame-red stigmas from autumn crocus flowers. These fine strands must be harvested by hand at mid-morning when the petals are fully open to the sun – it can take up to 200,000 flowers to create one kilogram of dried saffron threads.

In cooking, quince is often spiced with saffron, and we discovered the same affinity in the fragrance, the saffron enriching the scent and bringing the finishing touch to our kitchen scene.