Papa Meilland is a hybrid tea bred by Alain Meilland in France in 1963, and it's still considered one of the most fragrant red roses ever bred. Long, nearly black buds open into very large, about 14 cm, high-centred blooms of dark velvety crimson, with about 35 petals each. The fragrance is strong and rich, a classic old-rose scent that won the American Rose Society's Gamble Fragrance Award in 1974. In 1988 the World Federation of Rose Societies voted it into its Hall of Fame. The flowers come mostly one to a stem on strong stems, which makes them excellent for cutting, and they repeat in flushes from summer into fall. The plant is upright, about 90–120 cm, with large dark green leaves.

A classic fragrant dark red rose for patient gardeners.