Question:
Originally Posted by phantagarow I might be the only dissenter here. I don't think it is anything special or extraordinary. It is worth to have a decant but it would be kinda overboard to get a bottle at these prices. (Unless of course you're extremely rich or you love it after finishing up a decant). If something is discontinued, more often than not, there is a good reason. There is no good reason why a lot of stuff is discontinued. Look at all the new crappy fragrances coming out. There is no way these are better than a lot of the discontinued classics. Unfortunately most of the public doesn't have the same taste in perfumes as us so Acqua di Gio rules.

Answer:
Well, you should know - there`s a new relaunch of Derby Guerlain in their Parisienne serie. It goes in the very same rectangular bottle with `golden` facet.
I found the new as very big difference from the discontinued.
New one is bright-zesty-half-potent against the older disc. version - like now it`s not The Good Old Derby For Blood and Death (when I`m wearing old Derby, it reminds me AllBlacks` Hakka dance), but friendly International game - MUnited vs Thailand or Japanese team, which is made only to make some millions.

Answer:
I speak for myself and according to my tastes. BTW I like AdG.
It took me great time, energy, and cash to track samples of Derby, Versailles pH, Balenciaga pH, Beverly Hills Red, Balenciaga Portos etc.. and the result was disappointment in all of these cases.
Originally Posted by Azsmells There is no good reason why a lot of stuff is discontinued. Look at all the new crappy fragrances coming out. There is no way these are better than a lot of the discontinued classics. Unfortunately most of the public doesn't have the same taste in perfumes as us so Acqua di Gio rules.

Answer:
Originally Posted by phantagarow I speak for myself and according to my tastes. BTW I like AdG.
It took me great time, energy, and cash to track samples of Derby, Versailles pH, Balenciaga pH, Beverly Hills Red, Balenciaga Portos etc.. and the result was disappointment in all of these cases. Well perhaps you've just summed it up : I for one worship Derby (although I very much agree the new version does not compete in any respect with the former one, while the price is simply a mockery) and regard it as the best creation in male perfumery ever (which might account for what tmp00 pinpointed, i.e. that it might appear feminine at first because it is so sophisticated.) Having said that, I have a certain taste in heavy, rich and potent fragrances, and I perfectly understand and agree that someone with a different fragrance culture altogether might just find the whole fuss around Derby overrated.
Yet, WAOW ! :-)
Now, about the Guerlain policy... Well I suppose everything has already been said here, that of course this re-release has nothing to do with an in-house concern for older beauties but for a superb opportunity to track back the amateurs who had lost interest and hope in Guerlain over the last few years and bring them back to the "mothership" (same with the very recent re-launch of Chamade pour Homme.) I would be OK with the whole thing if Guerlain had the least of courtesy towards their customers by not changing the formula on the way, and if they had a price policy that was not so outrageous (when I first smelled Derby 15 years ago it priced the same as Habit Rouge and Vetiver, with a quality that had nothing to do with what it is now...) But anyway...

Answer:
Originally Posted by CoL I got mine off eBay USA for $20 (100ml Tester with lid) Few years back now mind you.
have you seen the prices on eBay now???

Answer:
Originally Posted by phantagarow I speak for myself and according to my tastes. BTW I like AdG.
It took me great time, energy, and cash to track samples of Derby, Versailles pH, Balenciaga pH, Beverly Hills Red, Balenciaga Portos etc.. and the result was disappointment in all of these cases.
If I may ask - why did you not like Versailles? I'm interested because, while I like some of the classic chypres alot, others disappointed me - Portos among them, as well as Léonard ph and Yatagan. I love Patou ph, though, as well as Punjab, Sander Man Pure, Trussardi. Seems to me I need some florals or sweetness in them, especially cinnamon, to make them work, while too much herbal or leathery aridity doesn't work for me. And where would Derby be in that respect, to come back on topic?

Answer:
Originally Posted by shadesofbleu have you seen the prices on eBay now??? US$399.99 for 100ml
The Vintage Edition is to die for IMHO. If there is a masculine (I find it masculine as L'Homme Sage) counterpart to Caron's Tabac Blond, it has to be Guerlain's Derby. And I can see it as a perfect signature scent, very versatile.

Answer:
For the record, I had a decant of the new version.
Originally Posted by Manderley Well perhaps you've just summed it up : I for one worship Derby (although I very much agree the new version does not compete in any respect with the former one, while the price is simply a mockery) and regard it as the best creation in male perfumery ever (which might account for what tmp00 pinpointed, i.e. that it might appear feminine at first because it is so sophisticated.) Having said that, I have a certain taste in heavy, rich and potent fragrances, and I perfectly understand and agree that someone with a different fragrance culture altogether might just find the whole fuss around Derby overrated.
Yet, WAOW ! :-)
Now, about the Guerlain policy... Well I suppose everything has already been said here, that of course this re-release has nothing to do with an in-house concern for older beauties but for a superb opportunity to track back the amateurs who had lost interest and hope in Guerlain over the last few years and bring them back to the "mothership" (same with the very recent re-launch of Chamade pour Homme.) I would be OK with the whole thing if Guerlain had the least of courtesy towards their customers by not changing the formula on the way, and if they had a price policy that was not so outrageous (when I first smelled Derby 15 years ago it priced the same as Habit Rouge and Vetiver, with a quality that had nothing to do with what it is now...) But anyway... --------------------------------------
I guess I never said that I didn't like Versailles pH. I just didn't care for it. I was blown away when I first smelled Musc Ravagaeur, A*Men, Chene, or Black Aoud. I was expecting a similar effect because of all the hype. Well I was wrong!
In Derby, there's a note which is sharp, sour, and acrid which completely ruins the scent for me. (again the new version). I smell the same thing in BdP as well which makes the scent unwearable to me.
Originally Posted by the_good_life If I may ask - why did you not like Versailles? I'm interested because, while I like some of the classic chypres alot, others disappointed me - Portos among them, as well as Léonard ph and Yatagan. I love Patou ph, though, as well as Punjab, Sander Man Pure, Trussardi. Seems to me I need some florals or sweetness in them, especially cinnamon, to make them work, while too much herbal or leathery aridity doesn't work for me. And where would Derby be in that respect, to come back on topic?

Answer:
Originally Posted by phantagarow I speak for myself and according to my tastes. BTW I like AdG.
It took me great time, energy, and cash to track samples of Derby, Versailles pH, Balenciaga pH, Beverly Hills Red, Balenciaga Portos etc, and the result was disappointment in all of these cases. Thank you, phantagarow! Having gone through phases of following/avoiding BN hypes myself, I have fallen into similar traps (who has not?). I never did find Versailles, but bought a few others blind, and Guerlain has always been a safe bet for me. I consider myself particularly lucky having discovered Derby. I love carnation and was not even aware I would end up owning not simply another (floral) leather, as it is sometimes classified, but a Mitsouko for men. I consider Derby a darker, somewhat brooding cousin of Equipage, another favorite of mine (ironically called a spicy fougère).

To be fair to Derby, Yatagan and similar fragrances we must consider the period they were created for, and abstract from our own, more recent, experiences with CommedG, Villoresi, Malle, Montale, etc.. I think that Musk Ravageur, Piper Nigrum, or les Arabes have turned the page of fragrance history, while some new Dior, Shiseido, and Armani exclusives lifted traditional standards even higher.

And BTW: I also like Acqua di Gio, and consider it a perfect, easy cologne. The familiar, often contemptuous remarks about AdG seem to mainly say: ‘look, I am a grown up man, and left my egg shells long behind! ’ It’s Armani’s great luck, not his fault, that this cologne became so über - 'in’ with American student generations. Simply based on the figures, and when nobody really remembers it any more, AdG will be looked at with sentimentality as one of the greatest ever, just wait for 2095