Against any and all protestations towards yet another oud, Heeley’s Agarwoud amounts to a fantastic counterargument. The sublime intensity characteristic of the note is free of its usual density, without losing profundity or depth. It induces meditative pause: pure agarwood smoke is marked with its usual clinical tinge of freshness, sublimated with the fleshy, diffuse, tender, and green touch of rose. Equally, tinges of amber and incense bring out the best features of the note, which, according to its complexity, becomes a game of impressions. Touches of astringent leather are set against soft smoke and salty ambergris, amongst vinous tones of red fruit, oak, and honied spices. This is an oud that features only the essentials – where it itself is enough. It pays attention to architectural form, guided first by its aromatic content. In a single instant there is immense complexity, instantly recognisable and infinitely evocative.