Champagne shipments have dropped for a second straight year, but Champagne Lenoble sees an opening in the downturn. As global volumes fell 9.2% in 2024, Champagne Lenoble CEO Guillaume Truchot says the softer market is proving favourable for smaller, terroir-driven houses focused on quality rather than scale.
According to the Comité Champagne, total shipments dropped 9.2% in 2024 to about 271.4 million bottles, following an 8.2% decline in 2023. Speaking to Vino Joy News, Truchot, whose house focuses on producing Grands Vins de Champagne, acknowledged the weight pressing on the category. But he sees opportunity in the slowdown. “The time of easy volume growth is over — but it is an excellent moment for serious, terroir-focused houses committed to excellence,” he said.
The CEO discussed Lenoble’s outlook on the softening global market, its strategy in France and Asia, and early impressions of the 2025 harvest.
A Cautious but Optimistic Market
“Over the past year, Champagne exports have softened by around 10% in volume as the post-Covid boom normalized and inflation impacted consumer behavior. Lenoble, we have inevitably felt that more cautious environment,” Truchot said.
The challenges, he explained, come from two directions.
First, a tighter macroenvironment has pushed both trade buyers and consumers toward more conservative choices. With two consecutive years of decline, downtrading and reduced drinking frequency have become more common.
Second, consumer habits continue to shift. In mature markets, younger adults are drinking less, and their attention is increasingly divided across alternative beverage categories.
Although Truchot did not disclose specific sales results, he emphasised that Lenoble has never chased volume for its own sake. The house, he said, remains steady. Despite the softer global picture, he sees resilience in a key segment of demand.
“Premiumization and authenticity. While headline volumes soften, demand for terroir-driven, age-worthy, genuinely high-quality Champagne is strong. Houses with a clear identity — like Lenoble — are well-positioned to thrive.
Quality and rarity as value drivers. Around the world, epicurean consumers actively seek maisons that are not too massive or marketed and that remain deeply committed to the excellence of their wines. Our voluntarily limited production and ‘Grand Vin de Champagne’ philosophy resonate strongly with these connoisseurs.”
Lenoble plans to invest heavily in brand image and communication in 2025, ensuring that the way it presents itself aligns with the elegance and authenticity of its wines.
France Remains the Core, Asia a Rising Priority
France remains Lenoble’s historical and still most important market, home to a gastronomically driven audience with deep appreciation for “Grands Vins de Champagne.” This year, the house strengthened its ties with independent merchants and high-end restaurants.
But export and diversification is becoming increasingly strategic, representing half of Lenoble’s sales. Over the past two years, Lenoble has expanded direct involvement in international markets to ensure partners understand its long-term vision. “Internationally, we have significantly increased our presence in the field over the past two years to ensure our partners fully understand our long-term vision and the qualitative growth we are aiming for. In some markets, partner selection and alignment are still a work in progress — and that is absolutely fine. This phase is essential: it ensures that when Lenoble grows, we grow together, in the right way, and always in line with our values.”
Asia accounts for about 10% of Lenoble’s exports. The region may be small in volume, but its strategic importance is growing. Lenoble’s greatest strengths lie in mature, connoisseur-led markets such as Japan and Hong Kong. “Asia remains a relatively small but strategically important region for Lenoble. Our historical strengths lie in mature, connoisseur-led markets like Japan and Hong Kong, where we collaborate with specialist importers and top-tier restaurants rather than pursuing high-volume retail.”
Even as the broader Asian drinks market slowed last year, the premium segment proved resilient.
“In Hong Kong and mainland China, we have deepened our presence in the fine-wine on-trade, private members’ clubs and with private clients through focused tastings and sommelier education. We have also established a promising new distribution partnership in South Korea and are actively seeking equally qualitative partners in Singapore and Australia. Japan has been more challenging in 2025 due to foreign-exchange pressure, but the fundamentals of our brand there remain extremely solid.”
“We are still early in our Asian development, but the foundations are strong. Our goal is not to pursue mass-market visibility: we want to be recognised as a serious, independent Champagne house for those who value terroirs, craftsmanship and truly ‘Grands Vins’. On that front, the trajectory is clearly positive,” he said.
2025 Harvest
Truchot describes the 2025 harvest as early, fast-moving and low-yield, but exceptional in quality.
“At Lenoble, what stands out is the combination of beautiful ripeness and impeccable sanitary conditions, without losing the tension that is so essential to our style,” he said. “Chardonnays from Chouilly show striking aromatic precision and vibrant acidity. Pinots from Bisseuil and Damery offer structure and freshness in equal measure.”
It is too early for definitive judgment, he cautioned, as the vins clairs still need time to evolve. Early impressions, however, point to a vintage marked by clarity, typicity and balance — more restrained than the notably “solar” years of late. “But our early impressions point toward a vintage showing clarity, typicity and balance, less extreme than some of the recent very solar years. It is a year in which we will likely produce vintage Champagnes while also reinforcing our reserves in magnums.”
Preserving Style in a Changing Climate
Climate change remains one of the Champagne region’s structural challenges. Truchot outlined Lenoble’s approach to preserving its identity in a warming environment.
In the vineyards, the house maintains HVE certification and limits chemical inputs. It adjusts pruning, canopy management and yields annually to avoid overripeness, and works to ensure that the terroirs of Chouilly, Bisseuil and Damery express themselves precisely.
In the cellar, Lenoble ages reserve wines in magnums under natural cork — a practice the house credits with greater depth and freshness. It avoids relying on late-harvest fruit or high dosage, harvests earlier to preserve natural acidity, and extends lees ageing to build texture without heaviness.
“Climate change is a serious challenge — but also an opportunity to craft Champagnes that are naturally ripe yet completely dry, textured yet never heavy. Our guiding principle remains: intensity without weight.”
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