A fascinating scientific study was recently published by an international team of researchers on the "Parentage of Merlot and related winegrape cultivars of southwestern France: discovery of the missing link" in the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology Review. Drs. J.M. Boursiquot,T. Lacombe, V. Laucou, S. Julliard, F.-X. Perrin, N. Lanier, D. Legrand, C. Meredith and P. This trace back to Merlot and Magdeleine Noire des Charentes, the "missing link", the origin of French Malbec, they called "Cot" in their article.

"Magdeleine Noire des Charentes also appears to be a parent of two additional cultivars: Mourtès, which is a cross with Penouille, and Cot (syn. Malbec), which is a cross with Prunelard, an old and endangered cultivar [...]." The researchers also noticed that "the different geographical origins of the progeny of Magdeleine Noire des Charentes suggest that this cultivar was once relatively spread across southwestern France."