"Calon" meaning little river skiff used in Middle Ages to ferry timber across the Gironde estuary, gave name to the district which was at one point known as Calones or Saint-Estèphe-de-Calon. In early times, Château Calon-Ségur was one of the original three vineyards in Saint-Estèphe, and in 1825 Château Montrose (in 1855 classified as a Second Growth) was a forest-land parcel belonging to the Calon-Ségur estate.

By marriage, the estate came to be owned by Nicolas-Alexandre, marquis de Ségur who also owned Chateau Latour and Chateau Lafite. Despite his ownership of these two First Growths, the Marquis said that his "heart was with Calon" and the wine's label today includes a drawing of a heart around the Chateau's name.

In the modern era the estate has been in ownership by the Capbern Gasqueton family since 1894. After Mme Capbern-Gasqueton's death, it was sold in 2012 to Suravenir Assurances, an insurance company.