Ta’if Roses is an aggressive rose soliflore; bright, crisp, lemony with a touch of honey. A basenoter (I think ) likened it to a parfum concentration version of Serge Lutens’ Sa Majeste la Rose, and I willingly concur. This is rose writ large, as in neon letters over the Quickie-Mart large. Sillage is far-reaching, for the first half-hour, but fades within four hours to a lingering rose-water subtlety I can only smell when I effect wrist-to-nose posture.

I’m a big fan of Sa Majese la Rose; it was one of my very first niche purchases, and always makes me happy when I wear it. Ta’if Roses is so similar that I probably don’t need to own it, but since it’s a 5mL decant I don’t feel too badly about the purchase.

What intrigues me (probably more than it should) is the noticeable lack of information about this perfume in the online perfumista community. I did find an old (2007) review on the Montale roses from Kelly, at Perfume Smellin’ Things, and I quote, “I am at a total loss because I can’t find very much information about them [Montale’s rose perfumes]. How is it that a company can have so many scents that come in and out of production so quickly?”

In 2005 Robin wrote a review on Montale Patchouli Leaves, and in 2008 a commenter on that article wrote: “Sa Majeste La Rose, while truly representative of a rose, is a wilted blackening red rose draped limply across a coffin compared to Montale’s beautiful but sadly discontinued Ta’if Rose which is brilliant sparkling and richly rosey.”

That’s about all the useful information I can find.

Perhaps Ta’if doesn’t warrant much attention; it doesn’t break new ground, it’s not particularly interesting, and it’s pretty darned expensive—rose soliflore lovers can easily find a good rose in just about any price range. But Ta’if is very nice, and meets most of my requirements for a perfume to keep it’s spot in my shrinking perfume cabinet.

I came to my decant of Montale’s Ta’if Roses via Daisy, a lovely woman who shares her perfume obsession by hosting bottle splits for the perfume community (she’s a saint).