Calafate

Note Profile

Botanical

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About

Calafate is the berry of Berberis microphylla, the Patagonian barberry. No extract of it exists. Première Peau states that no essential oil, absolute or CO2 of the species is sold, so a calafate note is an accord built to evoke a dark tart berry.

Scent Profile

Calafate is a built accord for a dark, tart berry, since no real extract of the fruit exists. It reads as tart and sour, astringent and almost tannic, darker than blueberry. A green, leafy snap runs through it, and a faint honeyed jam note shows underneath, with a bitter, herbal edge beneath that.

ScentWheel

Breadthmedium

EnvelopeTop · ~2h lasting

Family Fruity

Read off the wheel, not a label applied to the note.

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Origin

Berberis microphylla, a shrub of Patagonia. The fruit is dark blue-black. Première Peau reports no analytical volatile work on this species. It cites GC-MS-olfactometry on the related Berberis crataegina, where nonanal, hexanal and linalool lead, and offers that only as a proxy.

Usage in Perfumery

Fragrantica attests the term once. Parfumo does not carry it. Première Peau gives the construction: ethyl-2-methylbutyrate for ripe density, damascenone for jammy depth, cis-3-hexenol for the green snap of the bush, and a trace of blackcurrant bud absolute. It says the result reads as a fictional berry, sitting between cassis and sloe.