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Portia
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Hi there Rose Lovers,
I have had a 5ml decant here for ages of Taif Roses. It’s about half empty now and I worried that it would never get a showing on the blog. So many people deride Montale as a house for their unlimited releases of virtually the same faux oud scents again and again. It’s a fair criticism but if you ever take the time to look into a few of their non-oud releases you may be pleasantly surprised. Some of them are really lovely, and I like that Montale has kept their product affordable in this age of aspirational pricing.
I think it was someone on FaceBook’s Aussie Fragrance Network that reminded me recently of Taif Roses. Thanks to that person I grabbed it out again today.
Taif Roses by Montale 2007
While looking for a note list everywhere I looked gave only rose. The Taif rose is special, while looking for information I found a link on BaseNotes that took me to this.
From Armco: No one is certain how the 30-petal damask rose first came to Taif. The impulse for its cultivation, however, assuredly lay in Taif’s proximity to Makkah (Ed: Mecca). That the rose of Taif is virtually identical to the famous Bulgarian “kazanlik” strain suggeststhat Taif’s roses may have been transplanted from the Balkans by the Ottoman Turks, who occupied that area from the mid-14th century and the Hijaz from the 16th century. However, the kazanlik rose—its Turkish name means “suitable for the [distiller’s] kettle”—has its own roots in the Persian rose plantations around Shiraz and Kashan, which in turn supplied fields in Syria. A legend among the growers of al-Hada says that the flower originally came from India.
Taif Roses is a woody, green leaves and snap of fresh cut stems rose. Floral petals of rose, intoxicatingly intense are surrounded by the bushes themselves and the dry, cool air of the early morning picking in the spring sunlight. often compared in my reading to Sa Majesty la Rose by Serge Lutens but without the honey to sweeten it, and far less of the spicy clove.
Longevity is exceptional, in the Montale way and sillage is very good too. A little goes a long way but I like to really douse myself and sit among the rosey fog.
Further reading: Scent for Thought and BOTO
Feeling Sexy Australia has $145/100ml
How do you like your roses? Green, jammy, spicy or otherwise?
Portia xx