The mysteries of sandalwood

Warm scents coming from incense stick burning in a temple in India… That is what sandalwood evokes to us. Known for 4,000 years, sandalwood is one of the oldest fragrant ingredients used today. From its bark is made a precious essence that has been delighting the nose for many years. It’s warm and velvety perfume enriches compositions and brings a woody wake to fragrances. A true olfactory “must-have” that is becoming increasingly rare. From India to the forests of Australia, discover this jewel of perfumery.

In addition to its botanical name santalnum album, sandalwood was also called “East Indian sandalwood” since colonial times. Like cedar, cinnamon wood and rosewood, sandalwood belongs to the category of aromatic woods, which is also called perfume trees. It is a tree about ten meters high with oval evergreen leaves and small odorless yellow flowers with purple shades. But it is neither its leaves nor its flowers that make it so majestic, but its brown bark that protects a pale green or white heart with a velvety scent.

Known for thousands of years, sandalwood was first used by the Egyptians to embalm their mummies. It was also used by the Muslims of India during funeral ceremonies. They placed a censer containing sandalwood at the feet of the deceased, to allow the soul to rise. This dense and solid wood was also adopted in the construction of temples in Tibet, Nepal and China. The appearance of sandalwood in Europe will be later. It will be introduced by the Arabs who used it to perfume the leather of Cordoba in Spain. Sandalwood will also be present in pharmacies in the Middle Ages, once again introduced by Arab doctors who used it to concoct ointments and plasters. It was not until the appearance of modern perfumery in the 19th century that sandalwood became a raw material of choice and was used in many men’s compositions.

This sacred wood is native to Asia, and more precisely to India and Indonesia. It is in the south of India, in the state of Karnataka, that one of its most famous and coveted varieties can be found: Mysore sandalwood. This Indian city is surrounded by sandalwood and rosewood forests, a dream for all perfumers. Highly prized, Mysore sandalwood has long suffered from over-exploitation and is now cultivated under the aegis of the Indian government. Sandalwood is also grown in other countries, including Australia and New Caledonia, in the Vanuatu archipelago. This variety is quite similar in smell to Indian sandalwood. In Australia, the famous sandalnum album is cultivated on a large scale to compensate for the scarcity of sandalwood from India. Australia also produces another variety of sandalwood, whose smell is more resinous and smokier.

As it grows, the wood’s scent develops. You have to wait until the tree reaches maturity, between 25 and 30 years, to make an essence. At that time, the tree is cut down and uprooted, to be reduced to chips before being distilled. In the past, trees were felled and then the branches and roots were cut down. The trunks were then left abandoned on the ground and fed termites.

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