With old guitars it's a woody mustiness that's like the finest of colognes to me...
A recently acquired (NOS vintage MIJ) Rosewood fingerboard Tele neck reeked so bad of "perfume" I almost returned it to the guy... I let it air out for days, kinda blew the lid off the project with significant other, it laid here and there on the back porch and other places for days (and nights), airing out, til I got the rest of the parts for the project.
Didn't do any good.
I even washed the fingerboard down with Rosemary oil, trying to mask the smell, it faded away and the "perfume" stayed...
Then I found out that's why they call it Rosewood ;-)
The whole Tele smells "like a cheap wh*rehouse" to quote the old timers when I grew up, and I even have the smell on my hand when I'm done playing.
That was some mighty fine Rosewood they found when they built that neck. I've never experienced anything like it before, because I've never had any new guitars maybe?
I think now, if that smell fades, I'll be sad.