Checkmate

• Work
• Everyday
• Night out

Checkmate is inspired by a game of chess in a family garden and sets out to capture a calm, refined and slightly nostalgic atmosphere.

From the opening, the fragrance offers a bright, lightly spiced freshness. Citrus brings a lively, natural edge, while a touch of cardamom adds a subtle aromatic dimension, almost like hot tea sipped in the shade.

Then the fragrance moves towards something more textured and elegant. A supple leather appears, but far from raw, it is polished, almost velvety, accompanied by a powdery softness from iris and heliotrope. This phase feels comfortable and calm, like an unhurried, thoughtful moment where everything is in its place.

As the hours pass, Checkmate becomes warmer and more comforting. Woods and suede take over, bringing a soft, sophisticated depth. The fragrance always stays balanced between freshness and warmth, with an elegant signature, discreet but carefully crafted, like a perfectly tailored suit.

P. Frapin & Cie is a French family house that has been based in Charente since 1270, with winegrowing passed down from father to son for twenty-one generations. Its 240-hectare estate lies at the heart of Grande Champagne, the Premier Cru of Cognac, where limestone soils and a unique micro-terroir give the eaux-de-vie their distinctive depth. Frapin brought this same respect for the land and for time to perfume from 2004. The family tree holds a surprise: François Rabelais, one of the great humanists of the French Renaissance, was the nephew of Anne-Catherine Frapin. The quill on the house's logo is a tribute to him. Later, Louis XIV had a coat of arms presented to his apothecary, Pierre Frapin. Clearly, this house carries something that goes beyond simple artisanal production. Its perfumes are stories. 1270 pays tribute to the family's arrival in Charente and to Folle Blanche, a legendary grape variety now lost, whose scents of grapes, burnt vine shoots and candied fruit bring its memory back to life. 1270 Extrême takes this logic further with notes of honey, pineapple and tonka bean. L’humaniste summons the spirit of Rabelais, his curiosity and his tolerance. Each bottle is a fresco of Charente, an era, a character, a noble material brought to the stage with the same patience that governs the ageing of cognacs in century-old cellars.