There are certain oud oils in my collection that remind me not only of a particular wood or aroma, but also of a place, a person and a period of my life.

Walla Pata 2020 is one of those oils.

I purchased this oil during one of my last trips to Sri Lanka before the world went into lockdown.

It was around January or February 2020, and I was visiting a distiller whose work I had respected for many years.

What I have always appreciated about him is not simply that he follows traditional Sri Lankan distillation methods. It is his understanding of the material and, more importantly, his willingness to be selective about what goes into the distillation pot.

He was also one of my suppliers of high-grade Sri Lankan agarwood, so I knew the quality of the material he worked with.

And for me, that makes all the difference.

I have always believed that the quality of an oud oil begins long before the distillation starts.

It begins with the wood.

You can have excellent equipment, years of experience and a carefully controlled distillation, but if the material itself lacks character, there is only so much you can achieve.

This particular distiller understood the importance of working with good wood.

Much of the material used for his oils came from carving dust and smaller pieces produced while working with high-grade Sri Lankan agarwood. These were not simply ordinary scraps, but material originating from wood that already possessed a beautiful aromatic character.

Over the years, I had also encouraged him to avoid excessively long soaking periods.

I have never been particularly fond of the heavily fermented, barnyard-like character that can develop when agarwood is soaked for extended periods.

I want to smell the wood.

I want an oud oil to retain the identity of the material from which it was distilled.

Walla Pata 2020 was produced using a traditional approach, with a relatively short soaking period of approximately one week rather than several months.

And the result is exactly the kind of classical Sri Lankan oud that I appreciate.

Dark, deep, unmistakably Ceyloni, but beautifully clean.

The opening is immediately powerful.

There is a very dark, plum-like fruitiness to it. Not a bright or juicy plum, but something much deeper, almost like the colour of a very dark, mature fruit.

Alongside that fruitiness comes a beautiful leathery tobacco character.

It gives the oil a certain weight, a richness that immediately reminds me of the traditional Sri Lankan oud oils I have known for so many years.

Yet despite that depth, there is no unpleasant barnyard character, no heavy fermentation and none of the funky notes that can sometimes dominate traditionally distilled oils.

Instead, the natural character of the Sri Lankan wood remains beautifully recognizable.

And then, as the oil begins to settle on the skin, something wonderful happens.

The powderiness starts to emerge.

This is one of the qualities I have always loved about good Sri Lankan agarwood.

There is a particular powdery character that I associate with aged Ceyloni oud. It is difficult to explain to someone who has never experienced it, but once you recognize it, it becomes unmistakable.

With Walla Pata 2020, that powderiness becomes more and more beautiful as the oil develops.

The darker fruity opening begins to soften. The leathery tobacco character settles into the background, and the heart becomes increasingly woody, earthy and powdery.

And this is where the years of ageing have made such a difference.

The oil has developed a smoothness and maturity that cannot simply be rushed.

What began as a dark and powerful traditional Sri Lankan oud has gradually developed into something beautifully rounded.

The depth is still there, but the edges have softened.

The wood feels more settled.

The powderiness has become more expressive.

And then comes the drydown.

For me, this is where Walla Pata 2020 becomes unmistakably Sri Lankan.

The fruitiness slowly fades, leaving behind a deep, earthy, woody character with a soft powderiness that seems to remain on the skin.

It reminds me of the richness of old Sri Lankan agarwood itself.

Not a fragrance trying to imitate oud, but the natural character of the wood preserved in oil.

That is what makes this oil so satisfying to me.

I also find myself thinking about the circumstances in which I acquired it.