“Duchessa” is an elegant scent that exudes calmness, history, and money. Duchessa means Duchess, and the name fits well when we think of a very elegant, rich woman, not a young, playful girl.
It is important to acknowledge the difference between sweet and sour cherry perfumes. “Duchessa” has no resemblance to fresh cherries, but to the very dark, almost black, Amarena cherries in syrup that are often added to ice cream or desserts. The Amarena cherry variety is mostly grown in Italy. They belong to the sour cherries. Sour cherries are less often eaten directly fresh from the tree, but made into jam or other food, like the mentioned Amarena cherries in syrup. The cherries are cooked with a lot of sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, and other ingredients like almond aroma or Amaretto. A lot of those scent notes we find in “Duchessa”. The combination of sweet and sour notes gives the perfume a different attitude than a fresh cherry perfume. Sweet cherry scents are young, playful, and happy mostly; “Duchessa” is tranquil, luxurious, and regal. Most sour cherry scents have a calming effect and “Duchessa” is no exception to the rule, but a prime example.
The scent notes of “Duchessa”, according to the Gritti Fragrances website are black cherry, bitter orange, saffron flower, jasmine, cloves, cocoa, iris, almond, brown sugar. For me the black cherries dominate, made to Amarena cherries in syrup, with lemon, almonds, and sugar. Some of the other ingredients mentioned do not come through very much, at least for my nose. Those include the saffron flower, jasmine, cloves, and cocoa. Probably they soften the cherry note.
The perfume is not a very warm one, it is not cozy. There is some distance in the scent, a distance that pure luxury often inherently brings with it.
“Duchessa” can be easily worn for an evening event in full gala dress. Gritti Fragrances are at home in Venice, and of course they have produced many different perfumes. “Duchessa” has a strong resemblance to Venice, to a ball in a candlelit palazzo, maybe during carnival in February, but certainly during winter times.
The colour of the perfume is a cool, or icy, dark red.
The durability of “Duchessa” on clothes is very good. The price for the Gritti Privé collection, where “Duchessa” belongs to, is on the high side – over 300€. On the parfumo platform, “Duchessa” is rated no. 8 of the most loved women’s perfumes.
On their website, the Gritti Fragrance team describes all perfumes of the Gritti Privé collection as being a combination of two contrasting accords. Through coming together, they are supposed to bring up new and surprising notes. It is not explained which notes that are in “Duchessa” and I also do not smell very contrasting scents.
The bottles of the Gritti Privé collection are draped in black velvet and gold. All the other collection’s bottles are also beautiful, although looking a bit less serious. They resemble e.g. white marble and the turquoise of the Mediterranean Sea.
Gritti Fragrances are a niche brand of worldwide fame. Luca Gritti is named the “Nose” behind all the Gritti perfumes, although the brand seems to work with professional perfumers. Luca Gritti founded his House in 2009. Before that, he worked in the family business.
The Gritti family has a long and noble tradition in Venice; Luca Gritti’s ancestor Andrea Gritti was Doge (Ruler) of Venice during the 16th century, his son Alvise Gritti a merchant and diplomat. The picture Luca Gritti uses on his brand’s portrays him very much in the tradition of his family – pirate or captain of a merchant ship would be both fitting.
The brand is thriving and releases new perfumes quite regularly. Each collection follows a theme and is easily recognizable. Luca Gritti states in an interview on the website that for him perfumes are passion, love, and emotion. He is credible when he says that only the best ingredients are used and the family keeps a close eye on all the processes and the sustainability of the business. Almost every brand state this; Luca Gritti shows the necessary pride to really do it.
Luxury dominates the Gritti brand; beauty and a very sharp sense for business make the company consistent. If not for forever, at least for the next half century hopefully. All new Gritti perfumes deserve interest – as the brand is so well known and available in good perfumeries, one can safely test before buying.
There is no sign that the brand will be sold or discontinued – Gritti Fragrances (and The Merchant of Venice) are both perfect symbols of the culture of the city. The combination of artistry and making money made Venice great and it is perfectly mirrored in the Gritti Fragrances brand. “Duchessa” is a prime example for Venetian luxury.