Let's get this out of the way first: I don't like Windsor. I don't know if mine is the earlier or later release, and I don't care. This perfume could never smell good to me. I would never buy it. There, that's out of the way.
I can certainly understand the appeal of the fragrance, however. Although it doesn't quite mesh to my nose, Windsor's structure is intended to be a sprightly splash of cold aromatics after an Old World English cologne, rife with clean eucalyptus, gin (essentially juniper with a cold, potato vodka off note), snowy pine, and a little warmth via rose, cedar, and musk. Though usually not mentioned in the pyramid, there's also an odd fruit blend with a distinctly butyric edge, which smells like pineapple layered under bergamot. Royal pineapple, perhaps? Whatevs. Not a fan.
It's clearly an attempt to appeal to guys who want that starched, upper-crust effect of older British masculines like Blenheim Bouquet and Arlington, using very high quality synthetics and a handful of naturals, and if you're someone who likes eucalyptus notes, very STRONG eucalyptus notes, you might love Windsor. Evidently many guys do, because this has always been a popular Creed. I'll go on record and state that I personally dislike eucalyptus in perfume for one reason only - it winds up being Vicks VapoRub. Who wants to spend hundreds of dollars to smell like Vicks?
Yet that's exactly how this smells, made a bit worse by an astringent gin note, and a surprisingly synthetic pine effect. It could be that my patience has worn thin, but I swear that this is the most synthetic of the latest round of Creeds I've worn. When I think of royal things, I think of crisp, timeless, streamlined design, elegant and conservative, perfectly balanced, like my old wingback chair above.
Windsor is none of those things.