Bergamot does not smell of lemon

It is filed under citrus, and the matter seems settled. Yet set beside a lemon or an orange, bergamot resembles neither. It is green rather than yellow, bitter rather than sweet, and it leaves a floral trail the other citruses do not have.

That bitterness is what makes it precious. A straightforward citrus bursts and vanishes. Bergamot opens, then holds, and bridges to the white flowers that follow. It is both an opening and a bridge, which explains its presence in so many compositions where it is not the subject.

A citrus that bursts is forgotten. A citrus caught between green and bitter is recognised.

In ALBA it is the subject. It opens green and clean, neroli and orange blossom extend that clarity, vetiver and white musks hold it on the skin. Seven in the morning: light before heat.

If you have ever found that Earl Grey tea smelled good without knowing why, that was bergamot.