Sapucaia Real Extra Old Versao Limitada. Sapucaia are a Cachaca brand founded way back in 1933. Hailing from  Pindamonhangaba in the state of Sao Paulo. It was originally created by well known (at the time) entrepreneur Cicero da Silva Prado. It is still owned by the family.

The sugar cane estate and distillery is housed in the Vale do Paraiba. Sapucaia refers to a tropical tree in the Brasilian nut family Lecythidacae. The nut is shaped like a pot and contains edible seeds. It is grown largely as an ornamental tree due to its purple flowers.

In recent times Sapucaia have moved to a newer distillery in Pirrassunga – a very famous and respected location for Cachaca. The brand do have their own website but unfortunately it is down at the moment due to an issue with a WordPress installation. It’s easily fixed so hopefully they will get it done soon.

Sapucaia Real Extra Old Versao Limitada is as you have probably guessed even with a minimal knowledge of Portuguese, a Limited Edition Release. I have previously reviewed Sapucaia Real 18 Years – this is a slightly different variation on that cachaca.

Like the Sapucaia Real 18 Years this cachaca is produced from a base of Pot Still cachaca from 1990 which has been aged for 18 years in French Oak barrels. It is my best guess that prior to being aged in wood it spent years in stainless steel as it seems this bottling was produced in 2016. This is complimented by a small proportion of white cachaca which has been resting in stainless tell since 2002 and a small proportion of cachaca aged in Amburana casks. I do not have an age statement for this though it’s worth noting they have cachaca aged in such barrels for 5 years available.

It is also interesting to note at this stage that Wm. Cadenhead’s who are more famous for bottling Scotch Whisky currently have aged cachaca available from Sapucaia distillery. They are very reasonably priced as well. Though the postage is a bit pricy.

Which leads us on to the price of this particular cachaca. I found it for sale here. R$580 works out at about £83. When I researched my Sapucaia Real 18 Years review I found then that a company in Europe were selling that cachaca for €145. This is a little more expensive. However, it is unlikely we will see this particular cachaca for sale in Europe or anywhere outside of Brasil. It is a Limited Edition of just 500 bottles.

Sapucaia Real Extra Old Versao Limitada is bottled at a rather conservative 40% ABV the bottle is similar to others in the Sapucaia range. A very old school traditional style cachaca bottle with a very short neck. Despite the premium price tag you are still presented with a screw cap, albeit has been covered in some kind of foil. Colour scheme we have gold and black to show its Premium credentials. It looks very olde world rather then a Premium product by Western standards.

The back label has a little information on the bottling in Portuguese and a link to the website etc.

So lets move and get on with the tasting for this one.

The nose is clean and crisp, with a slight vinegar note to it. It has a stony/earthy quality to it. It is sweeter and more fruity than some of the more creamy and buttery aged cachaca I have tried. Green Apples, a touch of pear and some pineapple juice.

Further nosing and time in the glass reveals a very interesting smoked note. Tobacco leaves and some freshly cut, slightly burnt grass.

As you will find with cachaca the nose is quite delicate. Relying more on balance and subtlety rather than brute force power like a lot of heavy molasses rums. This is a pretty light, easy going profile. However, there is plenty of complexity to be enjoyed. Do not rush with this one.

It is quite similar to the Sapucaia Real 18 Years, unsurprisingly I guess.

Sipped you get a fair bit of smoke and tobacco on the initial entry. This is complimented by some sweeter grassier notes of sugar cane juice and some floral/perfumed notes. The younger cachaca makes it self felt. So you get some slightly immature notes of young white cachaca. This adds a little extra bite but I do feel the 18 Years had a more authentic 100% aged cachaca profile, which I slightly preferred.

The mid palate becomes quite stony and mineral like. There is minimal burn but there is enough wood spice and oakiness to keep the cachaca going through the finish.

The finish reveals a little bit of tartness and a fairly short fade out of the oak and spice. I was hoping for more from the finish. It is a touch on the short side.

Overall this is a very pleasant, easy going cachaca. The nose is nicely balanced and the initial delivery and mid palate are very flavourful and pretty complex. The let down is with the finish which is quite short and fades too quickly for such a premium product.

It’s good but at this kind of price point I would expect more. In terms of value for money so far from the Sapucaia range the Florida Ouro is the clear winner. It offers the best bang for your buck. This is a bit pricy and whilst it is very good – it probably isn’t £150 plus good.