This small family-run cognac producer from Berneuil insists that their cognac is not merely of standard quality. This can be validated by the fact that the Petit family works with traditional methods handed down form their grandparents and harvest the grapes manually. This is almost extinct in the cognac industry due to growing demand and the production of high quantities. André Petit came to some sort of fame in the industry by stopping their contract with Hennessy in the 1960s and deciding to produce themselves. Like many small producers from the Cognac region, they also specialize in the making of Pineau des Charentes.
Visit André Petit: Le Bourg ,16480 Berneuil ,+33 (0)54578 55 44 ,Visits all year around from Monday to Friday. Call for an appointment. Other products by André Petit: A. Petit Cognac and Pineau des Charentes
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In the Cognac region, friendships often span decades, shaped by time, the passing vintages, and the shared respect for the craft of distillation. For us at Cognac Expert, Jacques Petit has always been more than a neighbor. Someone who never rushed, never followed trends, and never pretended that Cognac could be anything other than the patient work of people who care.
In September, Max visited Jacques once again. They sat down for dinner, as they have done many times before, a simple meal that turned into a long evening filled with stories, reflections, and talk of the future. The table conversation naturally turned to what’s new at André Petit: a redesigned range that gives our old favorites a new look, of course without changing what’s inside.
We remain Cognac artisans and do not want to be swayed by fleeting trends.
That's what Jacques said when Virginia met with him a few weeks earlier. Max’s visit picked up where that earlier discussion left off, continuing the thread between old friends.
If you’ve followed André Petit for years - like us - you’ll recognize the soul of the house immediately. It hasn’t changed direction, but it has refined its balance. For Jacques, the new range represents a careful evolution: Cognacs that are slightly older, a touch rounder, and smoother on the finish. The aim was not to reinvent, but to deepen.
For Jacques, continuity isn’t a slogan. It’s his way of working. He speaks with ever-present calm conviction.
The new range remains in the spirit of the previous one, namely older Cognacs crafted with great care by selecting the best barrels and the finest eaux-de-vie, which give smoother, less aggressive Cognacs with longer finishes.
Together now with Roland Legaret and the team from the Distillerie des Moisans, Jacques continues his pursuit of refinement over reinvention, keeping what works, improving what can be improved, and otherwise letting time do its part.
The redesign of the André Petit range took twelve months from first sketch to finished bottle. The goal was clear: keep what people recognize, and modernize just enough to signal a quiet renewal.
We kept all the signs that recall an André Petit Cognac, while adding a style reminiscent of an old reserve discovered in a cellar full of secrets.
Each bottle still carries the hallmarks of the house, the same names, the same family imprint, but with a touch more clarity and presence. The new design doesn’t shout; it simply feels more at ease in today’s world. From the VS and VSOP to the Napoléon, XO, and XO Extra, the hierarchy remains unchanged – but with Cognacs that have matured longer and developed a more generous texture and added depth. What matters most to Jacques is that each Cognac, regardless of age, “keeps that good taste which characterizes a Cognac.” His approach rejects pretension. Whether it’s a young, lively VS for the aperitif or an XO Extra enjoyed after a long meal, every bottle requires the same attention and care.
Anyone who’s ever stepped into Jacques’s cellar knows the atmosphere: the scent of oak, the soft hum of humid air, and the subtle humor that fills the space. “The Angels’ Share is very real, not a joke at all,” he smiles.
Yet that balance between seriousness and mischief defines him perfectly: a man who knows the science of evaporation but never lets the poetry of it disappear.
Here, barrels rest in both dry and humid cellars. Some are neutral, others older, chosen for how they shape the eaux-de-vie’s slow evolution. Jacques explains it:
It’s not a single adjustment; it’s a whole process that plays out between the choice of the barrel (new or used) the type of cellar (dry or humid) the length of aging, but above all the quality of the eaux-de-vie and the practice of blending. The secret of great Cognacs lies there.
Nothing about this process has changed in the new range. The barrels are still handled with the same patience, and each batch is still given the time it needs, not the time the market demands. It’s an approach that feels increasingly rare, and it’s exactly what makes André Petit bottles feel so brimming with character.
Over the years, Jacques has shared several special projects with us. One of the most memorable is André Petit Les Quatre Années, an exclusive bottling created together with the Cognac Expert team. The Cognac combined four separate vintages (1983, 1985, 1988, and 1993) to form a liquid portrait of an important handful of years in Jacques’s life and work. The resulting release, captured beautifully in our short documentary video, shows him exactly as he is: genuine, funny, and deeply engaged in every step of the process. It remains one of the purest expressions of the friendship between Jacques and our team, a shared project rooted in trust and mutual respect. And the Cognac is such a perfect representation of Jaques precision and skill to make a fine Cognac.
Crafted from eaux-de-vie produced exclusively from the family’s vineyards in Berneuil within the Bon Bois region, this Brut de Fût Cognac has an ABV of 44,3% and has been naturally reduced. Unfortunately, this Cognac is sold out and no longer available.
Jacques inherited both his vineyard and his skills for Cognac production from his father, but the passion that he brings to his craft is all his own. As soon as Jacques began to distill Cognac he developed a love for the art and the degustation of eaux-de-vie.
Jacques believes that each viticulteur expresses themselves through their production and each one has their own individual taste that shows who they are. It is this belief that he carries through to his own work and as is particularly the case with Les Quatre Années de Berneuil, with a taste of each of his Cognacs you can also get a taste for the man who distilled them.
In his own words, his passion lies in the degustation, the exchange, the discovery, the surprise.
A map of France with the Cognac region of Bons Bois highlighted
A map of the crus, Bons Bois highlighted
A detailed map showing the village of Berneuil and the location of the André Petit vineyards (in green)
Talk long enough with Jacques, and the conversation inevitably drifts toward how Cognac should be enjoyed. He refuses strict rules. “For an aperitif, it would of course be a young Cognac, either a VS or a VSOP,” he says. “The purpose of an aperitif is to open the appetite, so the drink should be fresh and lively, with little rancio.”
Then, as the conversation turns toward dessert, he offers a small surprise:
Put a Napoléon Cognac in the freezer overnight and drink it the next day with a chocolate dessert, like a Black Forest cake, it will deliver a beautiful surprise.
That kind of suggestion captures Jacques perfectly: practical, curious, and slightly unconventional. He knows his Cognacs are versatile; he simply invites people to experience them with the same openness he brings to making them.
For those who prefer a longer, contemplative moment, Jacques’s XO remains the heart of the house - and has been a cabinet staple at Cognac Expert since the very beginning. This Cognac, aged under both dry and humid cellar conditions, shows what patience can bring. Layers of fruit, oak, and spicy warmth that unfold slowly in the glass.
For those who know Jacques, curiosity has always been part of his work. Experimentation isn’t something new; it’s woven into how he thinks about Cognac and spirits. His liqueurs have long been part of that story. He’s always had an established range of liqueurs that, while familiar, has recently been ever so gently reimagined. This evolution came through collaboration with Roland, whose experience and insights helped refine and complete the collection with fresh perspective.
The result is not a departure, but a continuation of Jacques’s instinct to explore flavor and texture in new forms. “The ideas became more vivid after discussions with Roland,” Jacques says, “who took advantage of the existing exceptional range of liqueurs to complete it and open a more diverse market.” Yet the collection still bears Jacques’s signature curiosity, that constant urge to see how tradition can open new paths without losing its footing.
Some of the liqueurs lean on Cognac, others follow their own path, but all share the same sense of balance, flavor, and sincerity that defines the house. They are just another way for Jacques to express what the region can offer.
If you ask Jacques to summarize the revisited range, he answers with three words:
Traditional, modern, unforgettable.
It’s a concise way of saying what many in Cognac admire about him, that he knows how to evolve without neglecting the past.
The redesigned André Petit range shows precisely that balance. The labels and bottles may have changed and showcase different silhouettes, but the spirit within the liquids (their aromas, textures, nuance, and depth) remain as they’ve always been. It’s a sort of reaffirmation, a visible reminder of a truth that has guided Jacques all along: that what’s genuine doesn’t need reinvention, only care.
For Max, Virginia, and all of us at Cognac Expert, the story of André Petit is also a story of a great relationship, of conversations that stretch across years, of visits that feel like coming home. In a region where the pace of time is measured in seasons and evaporation, Jacques Petit continues to remind us that real constancy is its own kind of progress.
And so, when you hold one of these newly dressed bottles in your hand, you’re looking at continuity made visible, the same Cognac style, the same family, the same conviction, expressed in a new way. And we’re all for it! What’s not to like!
In 1850, a certain Monsieur Goulard, who was the grandfather of current owner Jacques Petit's grandmother, was a weaver. The man lived and worked in the midst of the beautiful vineyards in the region of Cognac. One day, Mr. Goulard decided to build a distillery for cognac, supported by his cousin, who worked at the Hennessy distillery at that time. After years of turbulent times and wars as well as vine epidemics of phylloxera and mildew, production finally recovered and the distillery took on the name of Petit in 1921.
The name Petit actually comes from Jacques Petit's grandmother's marriage to Albert Petit. For decades, the Petits contracted most of their eaux-de-vie to Hennessy until in 1965, Jacques's father André Petit, who also introduced the name "André Petit & Fils" (André Petit & son), made a brave move in stopping the existing contract with Hennessy. He had been making his own cognac and Pineau de Charentes since some years and believed that he could produce his own high quality product. From harvest to distillation, aging and bottling, André Petit cognac remains to be an independent cognac house selling from the small village of Berneuil in Charente.
Jacques Petit continues to run the family business with a firm belief in the uniqueness of every vintage. He is regarded as somewhat of a radical in the industry, as he does not abide by the rules of standardised cognac, which means that every bottle tastes the same. He believes that every year has a very distinct character (due to the weather and growing conditions) and accepts the fact that some years are better than others. This makes Cognac Petit a coinnesseur's cognac, appreciated by those who want to taste different nuances.
André Petit Cognac applies a very old-fashioned distillation procedure, where the pot-stills are heated over an open fire.
Their cognacs won a bronze medal at the International Wine and Spirits Awards in London in 1998 and other awards at renowned competitions since, which is a huge achievement for a small producer like André Petit.
Jacques Petit used to collaborate with Claire Coates, former head of marketing at the BNIC, in producing the cognac-based drink So Yang.
Cognac Napoleon by Petit can also be enjoyed iced, meaning directly from the freezer. It marries very well with chocolate desserts.
In 2025, Jacques slightly redesigned his bottles.
You should call to make sure someone is home, but a visit to this very intimate cognac house is worth it and Jacques Petit will happily show you around. Open for visits all year around, from Monday to Saturday 8h to 12.30 and from 13.30 to 18h. Tasting & information about Cognac from distillation to the glass.
