Does that golden yellow color always mean premox?

I just had a bottle of 2006 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Bougros. When I poured the wine the color was that golden yellow that is so characteristic of PREMOX. After a bit of profanity I tasted the wine to discover that it was good, in fact really good. So my question is whether or not the golden hue always indicates some degree of oxidation or are there other causes of this distinctive golden hue?

Oak can cause a deep golden color as well. That brownish tinge is a bit different though.

In the cases where the wine turns out to actually be good, I’ve often seen the wine color lighten up considerably with air. In cases of premox, the wine gets worse with air and the color stays just as bad.

The hue comes with age, a slight oxidation (which does not have to be a negative) that I look forward to in older wines.

We could ask our Urologists on WB this question and they’d say you’re probably dehydrated .

That is about the color

Color and oxidation is a slippery slope, and by that I mean it depends on age and other factors. Apple juice color to cider often is premox. Older wines will get golden. In the end, taste is the arbiter.

A short skin contact of a couple days can give a yellow color as well. Lillian rousanne is the best example, also had a new release vermentino from Corsica that was highlighter yellow from a short skin contact.

Indeed. And longer skin contact will give a deep amber colour. The colour from skin contact seems occasionally to be confused with oxidation, perhaps because both are in peoples’ minds associated with “natural” wines.

Could be botrytis. Not sure about Chablis but lots of rot in 2006 white Burg.

Interesting. I did notice a bit of “sweetness” not characteristic of Chablis.

Different varieties certainly can have a more ‘amber’ color - most Roussannes and Marsannes tend to have a deeper amber hue that if one saw in a chardonnay, they may be concerned. And this is not due to skin contact per se - these varieties have a higher percentage of dissolved solids which leads to this deeper hue as soon as the grapes are crushed and fermentation begins.

Cheers.