Standing in the arid Mediterranean landscape, take a whiff from the tip of a clay gooseneck bottle. Notes of geranium and thyme hit your nose first, with hints of pine underneath, and then a lingering, complex herbaceousness. To a trained nose, the smell may at first seem distinctly French, reminiscent of Francois Coty’s 1917 Chypre perfume, which became one of the most popular and celebrated scents of the 20th century. But the smell emanating from the bottle is much, much older. It’s reminiscent of the inspiration behind Chypre, dating back…
