Rudi Pichler is justifiably proud of his 1996 Gruner Veltliner Kollmutz Auslese, an excellent wine even though it was produced in the worst vintage of the 1990s. This light to medium-bodied, sweet clay and lime skin-flavored offering reveals scents of smoky minerals as well as earth. Pichler used 50% new oak (new oak is a rarity in the Wachau) to enrich this wine's middle. It has lovely balance and an appealing bitterness in the finish. Drink it over the next 2-3 years.