Odor: amber ambergris

Use: Used in perfumery for over 3,000 years, Cistus labdaniferus var maculata still is an essential ingredient in perfume-making. This remarkable Mediterranean shrub perfumes the air of our scrublands with a powerful amber-like scent. The only plant to have amber notes similar to those of ambergris, it is also known as “vegetable ambergris.” Spain is where the bulk of world production takes place of cistus-derived products: cistus essential oil, cistus concrete, cistus absolute, labdanum resinoid, and labdanum absolute. This follows naturally from the shrub’s abundantly wild growth in Spain. The whole plant, particularly the leaves, secretes a very fragrant gum – labdanum –that protects it from southern Spain’s extremely hot summers. The shrub’s leafy twigs are harvested in July-August in our cistus fields in Almaden de la Plata near Seville, Spain. To recover the labdanum, the twigs are plunged into hot, carbonated water for a few minutes, then removed from the tank (they will be used as fuel). Adding acid makes it possible to obtain the “raw” gum, which still contains about 35% water. It will then be dewatered and dried for a final moisture content of less than 10%. Labdanum resinoid is obtained by ethanolic extraction of the gum, followed by concentration. The yield is about 65% of the dry gum.

Odor: SWEET, WOODY, BALSAMIC

Odor: Labdanum profiles are usually more intense, longer-lasting, with leathery dry-down and animalic notes

Odor: Balsamic Resinous Gourmand

Use: Labdanum is a gum secreted by cistus shrubs that allows them to be more resistant to the dry season: a resinous film covers the entire shrub and prevents it from drying out. Its amber scents, rarely found in plants, make it a much sought after ingredient. Labdanum is traced as far back as the 5th century B.C. when it was collected by combing the beards of goats and sheep that had been wandering around the resinous cistus shrubs.

For fragrance use

Odor: balsamic amber fruity castoreum tobacco rich sweet herbaceous-balsamic

Use: Blends-well-with - oakmoss clary sage pine juniper calamus opopanax lavender lavandin bergamot cypress vetiver sandalwood patchouli olibanum maroc chamomile and oriental bases.