LVMH Brands Lead Champagne Popularity With 100% of Top Five, Family Houses Outperform on Quality and Price

A new industry study has revealed a clear divide in the Champagne market between the popularity of large, corporate-backed brands and the quality offered by family-owned producers. The Champagne Study Digest 2025, titled "In Victory and Defeat," draws on an annual survey of 50 senior executives from companies that together represent more than one-third of global fine wine revenues. The study aims to evaluate Champagne’s performance over the past year and identify opportunities for the region in 2026.

The report shows that LVMH-backed brands dominate the rankings of the most popular Champagne estates. All of the top five producers in terms of popularity are owned at least in part by LVMH, a major luxury goods group with significant marketing resources. Krug, another LVMH-owned house, is the only exception among its peers, ranking 14th overall. Popularity in this context is measured by Google search volumes over the past year, using average monthly searches as an indicator.

Despite this dominance by large corporate groups, family-owned Champagne houses continue to perform well. Billecart-Salmon, Bollinger, Laurent-Perrier, Louis Roederer, Pommery and Taittinger all appear within the overall top 10 most popular estates. These family-run producers are recognized for their strong presence in trade listings worldwide, even though they generate fewer online searches compared to their corporate counterparts.

The study compares quality, price and market presence across 55 Champagne producers. This includes 11 grower Champagnes, 18 family-owned maisons and 26 Grandes Marques. According to the findings, family-owned houses deliver the highest average quality scores while also offering lower prices on average. They have the largest number of trade listings globally but attract less online search interest.

In contrast, the biggest Champagne brands command higher prices and attract more online attention but record lower average critics’ scores in the study. Grower Champagnes consistently fall between these two groups across all measured categories: quality, popularity, price and market presence.

The report also analyzes critics’ scores using ratings from Bettane+Desseauve, Le Figaro Vin, JancisRobinson.com and Vinous. Among the 20 highest-scoring wines identified in the study, twelve different producers are represented. Krug, Dom Pérignon and Jacques Selosse each have three wines included in this group, while Louis Roederer and Bollinger each feature twice. Jacques Selosse is notable as the only grower Champagne producer represented among these top-scoring wines.

Of the 23 non-vintage Champagnes included in the wider study, only two appear among the top 20 highest-scoring wines—both from Jacques Selosse. The report also notes that only Vinous has tasted Krug Clos d’Ambonnay, with both its 2006 and 2008 vintages receiving scores.

The full report presents its findings as a snapshot of a Champagne market shaped by strong brand visibility on one side and value-driven quality on the other. As Champagne producers look ahead to 2026, this divide between brand power and perceived quality is expected to continue influencing consumer choices and market trends.