Un Jardin en Méditerranée: The first opus signed Ellena in the Jardins collection. After the formidable success of the very sober and very elegant Eau d'Orange Verte, Hermès asked Jean-Claude Ellena to create a fragrance in the same understated vein, this time around the Mediterranean.
Un Jardin en Méditerranée was born in 2003 and symbolizes the olfactory scents of a Tunisian garden. Between shadow and light, between land and sea, Un Jardin en Méditerranée is a fragrance filled with emotions. Jean-Claude Ellena himself states that Un Jardin en Méditerranée is a mosaic of olfactory, visual and tactile sensations. Un Jardin en Méditerranée takes us on an unprecedented journey, through incredible sensations. The first-born of the Jardins d'Hermès collection is a magical essence, a unisex fragrance.
Un Jardin en Méditerranée, an olfactory journey signed Jean-Claude Ellena
Born in Grasse to a perfumer father, Jean-Claude Ellena was in contact with the world of scents from a very young age. In 1968, he joined the Givaudan perfumery school in Geneva. His first success, First by Van Cleef & Arpels, propelled him into the spotlight. In 2004, Jean-Claude Ellena became the exclusive perfumer of the Hermès house. He likes to work on streamlined formulas and prefers to work and create formulas with 200 raw materials, whereas fragrances can contain up to 1500! Although Jean-Claude Ellena is now retired, he left his mark on the world of perfumery. He is behind such major successes as Terre d'Hermès, L'Ambre des Merveilles by Hermès, and Eau de Campagne by Sisley.
Un Jardin en Méditerranée, Hermès notes full of emotion
Un Jardin en Méditerranée opens on the freshness of bergamot and lemon combined with orange blossom. Originating in China, the earliest traces of lemon date back 2,500 years. It later traveled along the Silk Road to the Middle East. The Hebrews discovered it and planted it during their exile in Babylon. From the 10th century onward, Greek physicians used lemon to reduce fever. Today, lemon is one of the most widely used citrus fruits in cooking. In perfumery, lemon essence is obtained by cold expression of the zest. It releases zesty, fruity, sweet and bitter tonalities. Then, the heart of Tom Ford Noir is built on laurel, fig tree and mastic, bringing a play of shadow and light and transporting us to the heart of the garden. Mastic is a tree native to the Mediterranean rim. The mastic pistachio tree is, above all, the tree of the Provençal scrublands. Known since antiquity, mastic has been used for its medicinal properties to treat gastric disorders and respiratory ailments. In perfumery, mastic oil is obtained by distillation of its flowers and branches. Then, the base of Un Jardin en Méditerranée is built on red cedar, fig leaves and Virginia juniper. Timeless, Un Jardin en Méditerranée delights our body and our soul...