17,000 bottles. One dining table.

The wine cellar at Gleneagles has a solitary dining table. And even though the surrounds are austere rather than showy that is essentially the point. This is a private, privileged world. We are guided there through the service quarters of the hotel, along a corridor thronging with staff dashing off in every direction. It’s Upstairs, Downstairs made real.

The basement is reached down a narrow staircase, where you can spend an evening surrounded by 17,000 bottles of some of the finest drops you’ll find anywhere, including the Grand Cru, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 1998, a snip at £6,750 a bottle.

If you fancy a digestif following supper, you can always plump for the Remy Martin Louis XIII jeroboam for £25,000 from the ‘Stillroom’. Note: this is currently on sale, if your pockets are deep enough.

A four-course meal typically begins with canapés, and a starter might include seared scallops and Hebridean crab, although you can always opt for a bespoke menu. And why wouldn’t you?

Open as a dining space since 2011 the cellar has proved popular with parties for many different types of occasions. But discretion is the watchword for this famous hotel so our probe for information is not met with any names.

However we are told the venue has been used for client entertaining, company celebrations (including the signing of a new deal) and retirements.

It has been used by drinks companies, financial clients and the construction industry; it has also hosted several groups of international food and drink writers. The venue has even been used as a backdrop for wedding photographs, but not the ceremony itself, as Kate Newton, the hotel’s PR & Corporate Marketing Manager, is eager to point out. For history buffs, the cellar is decorated with artefacts and archive material.

And if transportation is your thing, the hotel first received its wines by rail from all over Europe – with the original railway bays visible as you dine. The cellars will no doubt offer that rare glimpse of living history and with a sommelier on hand to help you choose your carafe, what’s not to like?

I only hope now my daytime tour is followed by a more thorough dining experience in the post.