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Ristretto Intense Café
by Montale
Ristretto Intense Café by Montale offers a bold, gourmand profile centered around coffee, rose, vanilla, and caramel, with a dry, bitter coffee and woody background. The opening features a strong, realistic roast coffee note that fades in intensity, giving way to a lush, sweet rose-vanilla combination that dominates the mid and dry down, creating a dense, creamy, and seductive scent. It is a powerful, long-lasting fragrance with exceptional projection and sillage, making it unapologetically attention-grabbing, especially in cooler weather. The scent evolves dramatically on skin—starting with coffee and settling into a rich, sweet floral gourmand that feels more like a dessert or a café than a perfume. Despite its performance, many users note that the coffee is not as prominent as expected, and the rose note is often described as dominant and synthetic, which may be overwhelming for those who dislike floral gourmands. The scent is highly polarizing, leaning feminine for many, but comfortable for men who appreciate bold, sweet, and complex scents.
Pros
- +Strong, long-lasting projection and longevity
- +A bold, rich coffee opening with a strong sense of realism
- +A well-balanced, concentrated extrait de parfum with superior performance
Cons
- −The coffee note is subtle and fades quickly, making it less significant than expected
- −Overpowering rose and sweet gourmand notes that feel synthetic and heavy
- −Deeply unisex with a feminine-leaning profile, which may not suit all skin chemistries