Impeccable taste: Sir Paul Smith

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Sir Paul Smith, the designer who – through four decades of fashion – has changed the way men dress, talks about his recent collaboration with Berry Bros. & Rudd, the person he most enjoys sharing a drink with and his guilty secret about where he keeps his Ch. Mouton Rothschild.

It was a good bit of fun to design these labels for Good Ordinary Claret and Good Ordinary White. I drink them on a regular basis and have done for many years. They’re really brilliant wines; I love that the Claret has such a strong Merlot base to it.

I’m probably just an old romantic but I’ve always taken Valentine’s Day seriously, with a nice card and a gift for my wife. These labels are a great bit of fun; a nice thing that you can give to a loved one.

My wife and I have spent many, many years socialising and being out and about, but these days we enjoy being at home and relaxing – sometimes with a glass of wine!

Many years ago my doctor said to me: “Paul, one or two good glasses of wine is a fantastic way to live, but the most important thing is that the wine is good.” So the fact that the Good Ordinary Claret has got the word “good” in it is a very good start!

You could probably call me a collector. When somebody said to me recently that I had a reputation as a collector I foolishly said, “No, I’m not a collector. But I do have a large quantity of the same thing.” And they said, “That is called a collector!”

I do have some nice wine stored in completely the incorrect place: it’s in the pantry at home. I’ve got some old Ch. Mouton Rothschild, some St Julien and some Margaux.

One of the nicest wines I’ve found is from the Piemonte area in northern Italy near Turin. I love a heavy Barolo wine, which is probably why I like the Good Ordinary Claret because it’s very full bodied.

The only thing about calling myself a collector is, yes, I used to collect a lot of wine but I also drink it!

Sir Paul Smith has worked with Berry Bros. & Rudd to produce just 5,000 bottles each of our Good Ordinary Claret and White, with slightly less ordinary clothes. Find out more about the collaboration here.