Sables Goutal 1985

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7.7 / 10 253 Ratings

Sables is a popular perfume by Goutal for men and was released in 1985. The scent is spicy-woody. The longevity is above-average. It is being marketed by Amore Pacific / 아모레퍼시픽.
Pronunciation

Layers well with Myrrhe Ardente (Eau de Parfum)

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Main accords

Spicy

Woody

Earthy

Resinous

Oriental

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Bergamot

Mandarin orange

Heart Notes

Madagascan pepper

Jasmine

Moss

Base Notes

Corsican immortelle

Amber

Indian sandalwood

Perfumer

Annick Goutal

Ratings

Scent

7.7253 Ratings

Longevity

8.5190 Ratings

Sillage

7.0181 Ratings

Bottle

7.3173 Ratings

Value for money

7.329 Ratings

Submitted by Chemist, last update on 09.04.2024.

Interesting Facts

Together with her husband, the cellist Alain Meunier, Annick Goutal should have spent several holidays on Corsica. It's said that she used her memories of them when she created "Sables".
The central theme of the perfume is supposed to be the shrub landscape. The maquis (or Corsican maquis) is a scrubland biome which is found in the Mediterranean region, considered typical of Corsica. It was born of over-used forests, which were broken by deforestation, logging and grazing as an ecosystem, creating the three to five meter high scrubland. The Macchia is often very rich in herbs and has its own beauty as a landscape, although one can still observe the traces of degradation significantly.

Reviews

9 in-depth fragrance descriptions

04/22/2018

7
Bottle 8
Sillage 9
Longevity 9
Scent

Meggi
212 Reviews

Translated Show original

Meggi

Top Review 45

Rich bouquet

Napoleon is said to have said during his years at St Helena that he would recognise Corsica by its scent when blindfolded. Apparently, various plants are responsible for this typical Corsican smell, which Sables refers to. So a pure scent of daisies was not to be expected - nevertheless Sables with his variety simply swept me away:

Herbal liqueur, spicy-foral, green-potato, strawy, slightly citric, waxy, caramel-like, curry-like, sweetish resinous, honey-like. All this is Sables within a very short time and remains so for hours. A lush and voluminous, yet amazingly not at all overwhelming, rich bouquet of billowing aromas arches up. Little progression, much variety.

In the course of the morning the fragrance merely becomes a little quieter. As if a form of mildness of old age had gradually set in, which admittedly loses none of its excitement, but certainly not its profile and character. All the components mentioned can still be perceived, they are only dimmed and gently sweetened. This is not surprising, it should become sweet towards the end! Allegedly...

But always anew, other impressions surprise in between, which may be explained by existing things, but still seem to be independent: A charge of essential oils of a sweet freshness that reminds me of aromatic lavender and aniseed. Or, around noon, aspects of fennel and celery suddenly seem to come to mind. Soon after, the Immortelle remembers her real name 'strawflower' and it no longer resonates with profane straw alone (see above), but a touch of dried summer flowers can be waved or even mentioned.

The fact that Sables turned a little bit towards curry in the afternoon fits well, after all the Immortelle is also called curry herb. Hm. Shouldn't it get sweet sometime? The persistence of the fragrance is really enormous. The base notes given stay out to the back, well into the evening, mere accessories.

It's weird. Many Goutals are a target for complaints about lack of stamina. This is contrasted by some real durability monsters. Like this one
Sables was a real surprise to me. My pre-associations, be it on the subject of "strawflower" or - in relation to the name - on "sand", possibly even on shortbread, went completely wrong. A great scent
I thank Mocha for the sample.

07/21/2018

7
Bottle 7
Sillage 8
Longevity 8
Scent

Serenissima
608 Reviews

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Serenissima

Top Review 28

Effi Briest, Immortelle and the Failure of a Marriage

"... Everywhere to the side were dense clumps of beach grass, but around it immortelle and a few blood-red carnations. Innstetten bent down and stuck a carnation in his buttonhole. "The immortelle after!" ..."

If I hear Immortellen, I immediately think of this passage from Theodor Fontane's social novel Effi Briest.
Young Effi must marry (instead of her mother Luise, her childhood sweetheart) Geert von Innstetten, a much older man, and is shipped off to the Pomeranian wasteland. There she lives in an inhospitable haunted house with her unloved husband, inhabitants who always remain strangers to her, and a "preserved young crocodile" hanging from the ceiling in the hallway. (Whether or not "the Chinese" is really haunted, I still couldn't figure out.)
It happens what must happen: she falls in love with the "first best" that crosses her path: the handsome and, unlike her husband, not at all boring Major von Crampas.
After the usual "errors and confusions" it finally comes to a duel. Crampas is shot by Innstetten, the marriage is divorced and Effi, young and stupid as she still is, must return "in disgrace" to her parental home.
There she dawns more or less toward her end, leaving her mother in quite a "torment of soul."
For quiet hours, Fontane's novel is quite pleasant entertainment.

The immortelles, also called strawflowers, growing among the beach grasses really have a curry-like fragrance.
I have a very large, silver-leaved plant on the balcony: during the flowering period with numerous yellow umbel cushions, it can not deny the name "curry flower".
Yet years ago I brought only one just finger-long head shoot from our botanical garden; who would have thought then of such a sprawling plant?
If it were possible, I would say: the entire Immortelle smells slightly dusty - the illusion of a sparsely overgrown stretch of beach in front of the gray monotonous sea is not to be dismissed.

Annick Goutal's "Sables" starts for me with this dry fragrance, which contains a slight hint of curry. Here, the immortelle is captured very well.
This light felt dustiness is very pleasantly enlivened by the warm scent of cinnamon; but it first needs the warmth and pulsating power of vanilla to bring a little "fire" to this work of perfume art.
Only now "Sables" leaves the native macchia mentioned above and becomes more cultured, a little more elegant: the fragrance begins to become "city".
The sandalwood addition here is very important to bring the first golden glow to this fragrance blend: it begins to breathe and live in a calm, quiet way.
So this rather fancy creation is finally ready to receive the final golden touch of amber.

"Sables" reminds me of a well-tailored men's suit in light or dark gray, which needs to be enlivened by an interestingly patterned tie to avoid looking too serious.
For me, this is a fragrance that needs time and a certain amount of confidence to get to know, and perhaps even conquer.
A "love at first sight/"spray" seems to me somewhat unlikely.
The durability is tremendously long for an Annick Goutal fragrance; after hours, "Sables" is still present; however, the immortelle then dominates with me again - not unpleasant, but a bit of getting used to.

"Sables" seems to be a classic for the "serious" gentleman; how far it is suitable for the "active life" or even for women, I can not judge.
Here I hold with old Briest and his concluding sentence in Fontane: "... it is too wide a field."

Thank you Meggi for giving me the bottling; worthwhile has this test in any case!

---
A supplement for all film lovers:
in 1939, Gustaf Gründgens filmed this material with his then-wife Marianne Hoppe in the leading role; the film was called "Der Schritt vom Wege".
Mrs. Hoppe had at the time of this marriage a small dog, who went by the name "Effi Briest".
Known as a constant barker, Gustaf called him only "Kläffi Biest"!

07/14/2012

jtd
484 Reviews

jtd

Top Review 6

Anoplopoma fimbria?

Sables follows a classical drydown arc: top, heart, basenotes. The real trick though is that is that it takes you from one genre to another over this progression.

Starting with immortelle dissolved in amber, Sables gives you either a strictly sweet maple syrup candy, or a sweet and savory curry with fenugreek and raisins. It’s up to your nose. I get the latter. Either way I find it principally gourmand.

Where Sables winds up, though is in the sandlewood/amber range. While the spice-like immortelle fades in the heartnotes, by drydown, there is a light, peppery sharpness that gives the amber drydown a mineral/dry inflections not miles from that of Ambre Sultan’s scent of hot stone. Sables is the only fragrance I can think of off the top of my head that isn’t categorized so much as a hybrid (eg. floriental, leather chypre…) but as a fragrance that starts in one genre (gourmand) and ends firmly in another (amber/oriental.)

A gorgeously constructed fragrance, appropriate across the multiple (and I believe there really are many) genders, but would be a smart statement of devil-may-care appreciation of prettiness on an assured straight man.

01/07/2021

10
Pricing 7
Bottle 9
Sillage 9
Longevity 10
Scent

HugoMontez
71 Reviews

HugoMontez

Helpful Review 7

With love, forever.

There are some fragrances that create so much with so little. Super straight forward, they want to replicate some moment/place or just the smell of something.

Goutal is a great classic brand that newer noses don't care and/or don't even know about it. And I don't blame them because today's standards are different from 20 years ago. Youtubers are the main sources for new hyped fragrances and the whole market are centered on fresh and sweet versatile scents and the niche houses are no longer niche brands but just high end designers clones, with higher price tags. Fortunately, there are still some classic niche brands that does things right.

This classic '85 release is a proof that we still can enjoy some different and quality fragrances with a good price and stand out while smelling appealing at the same time.

Created to his husband, Goutal wanted to replicate the smell of sand in Corsica beaches. And to do that, she choose to use immortelle. A big flower, with yellow tones and a strong smell (like burned curry). Very common in dunes and dry sandy places.

Sables has, right at the opening, a strong immortelle presence. Super dry, curry-like, a little bit creamy and sweet. There's also something sticky and sweet in the opening, that will evolve into a more dry, creamy and relaxed sweetness in he drydown. The main player here is, of course, the immortelle but I also can detect some dry and sweet cinnamon and a creamy sandalwood. That's it. Super straight forward composition. But it's so beautiful, powerful and majestic that it works perfectly.

A true piece of art, but still, very wearable and comforting like a warm coat. Winter is the best time to wear it due to his great performance and presence. Although I also can wear it in spring, on a walk on the coast side. 2 sprays will fill a room and will last all day (10h+)

All in all, a beautiful and magic fragrance that is a must-have and deserves more attention. Hopefully, will be available forever for us to enjoy, like the immortelle itself.

5/5

04/25/2012

7.5
Sillage 7.5
Longevity 8
Scent

Missk
1165 Reviews

Missk

Very helpful Review 3

Syrupy and distinctive

It's no secret that I adore Annick Goutal, however I must admit, despite my eagerness, I wondered whether or not her male fragrances would captivate me in the same way.

Fortunately, Sables is outstanding, incredibly desirable on a man and something I wouldn't mind wearing myself.

It's a little sharp at first. Sables begins with a strong burst of pepper, woods and smoke. Although masculine, I thought it was a little too much, somewhere along the lines of the ruggedly masculine yet rich and bold Yatagan by Caron.

Thankfully Sables settles into a divine, sensual blend of woods, spice, caramel and burnt golden syrup. It's almost a gourmand for men with its distinctive deliciousness.

I love how the burnt sugar accord doesn't make this fragrance feminine or too sweet. It's perfectly balanced and very sexy, something that I would never tire of smelling.

The longevity and sillage are rather impressive, with this fragrance clinging to the skin for almost a whole 12 hours or more. I highly recommend.

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