And something about Bordeaux grapes I didn't know. . .

The Wine Commonsewer provides me with a piece of information I didn't previously have:

Carmanere (also called Grand Carmenet) is a rare red grape that once was THE premier grape of Bordeaux. It was obliterated in the 1800's by a nasty disease called phylloxera that ravaged many of the vineyards of Europe. The grape was lost for a century and many assumed it to be extinct. Up until the 1990's this grape was thought to be simply a Chilean adaptation of Merlot but with subsequent advances in technology and science it was learned that it was the long lost Carmanere grape of Europe.

I'd encountered conflicting information about Carmanere, some of which indicated that it was a Bordeaux varietal, and others that mentioned it as being only a New World, specifically South American, grape. This explains how both piece of information could be reconciled. Thanks WC!