diff --git a/spring-rabbit/src/main/java/org/springframework/amqp/rabbit/core/RabbitTemplate.java b/spring-rabbit/src/main/java/org/springframework/amqp/rabbit/core/RabbitTemplate.java
index d06ca27d..ebedd8fd 100644
--- a/spring-rabbit/src/main/java/org/springframework/amqp/rabbit/core/RabbitTemplate.java
+++ b/spring-rabbit/src/main/java/org/springframework/amqp/rabbit/core/RabbitTemplate.java
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ import java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger;
 
+import org.springframework.amqp.AmqpConnectException;
 import org.springframework.amqp.AmqpException;
 import org.springframework.amqp.AmqpIllegalStateException;
 import org.springframework.amqp.AmqpRejectAndDontRequeueException;
@@ -665,15 +666,17 @@ public class RabbitTemplate extends RabbitAccessor implements BeanFactoryAware,
 		}
 		if (this.replyAddress == null || Address.AMQ_RABBITMQ_REPLY_TO.equals(this.replyAddress)) {
 			try {
-				execute(new ChannelCallback<Void>() {
+				return execute(new ChannelCallback<Boolean>() {
 
 					@Override
-					public Void doInRabbit(Channel channel) throws Exception {
+					public Boolean doInRabbit(Channel channel) throws Exception {
 						channel.queueDeclarePassive(Address.AMQ_RABBITMQ_REPLY_TO);
-						return null;
+						return true;
 					}
 				});
-				return true;
+			}
+			catch (AmqpConnectException ex) {
+				throw ex;
 			}
 			catch (Exception e) {
 				if (this.replyAddress != null) {
diff --git a/spring-rabbit/src/test/java/org/springframework/amqp/rabbit/core/RabbitTemplateTests.java b/spring-rabbit/src/test/java/org/springframework/amqp/rabbit/core/RabbitTemplateTests.java
index 2e08bd1f..ace4b1d0 100644
--- a/spring-rabbit/src/test/java/org/springframework/amqp/rabbit/core/RabbitTemplateTests.java
+++ b/spring-rabbit/src/test/java/org/springframework/amqp/rabbit/core/RabbitTemplateTests.java
@@ -17,10 +17,13 @@
 package org.springframework.amqp.rabbit.core;
 
 import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.containsString;
+import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.instanceOf;
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertFalse;
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertSame;
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertThat;
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertTrue;
+import static org.mockito.BDDMockito.willThrow;
 import static org.mockito.Matchers.any;
 import static org.mockito.Matchers.anyString;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.doAnswer;
@@ -44,6 +47,7 @@ import org.mockito.invocation.InvocationOnMock;
 import org.mockito.stubbing.Answer;
 
 import org.springframework.amqp.AmqpAuthenticationException;
+import org.springframework.amqp.AmqpConnectException;
 import org.springframework.amqp.core.Message;
 import org.springframework.amqp.core.MessageProperties;
 import org.springframework.amqp.core.ReceiveAndReplyCallback;
@@ -123,6 +127,7 @@ public class RabbitTemplateTests {
 		template.setChannelTransacted(true);
 
 		txTemplate.execute(new TransactionCallback<Object>() {
+
 			@Override
 			public Object doInTransaction(TransactionStatus status) {
 				template.convertAndSend("foo", "bar");
@@ -130,6 +135,7 @@ public class RabbitTemplateTests {
 			}
 		});
 		txTemplate.execute(new TransactionCallback<Object>() {
+
 			@Override
 			public Object doInTransaction(TransactionStatus status) {
 				template.convertAndSend("baz", "qux");
@@ -188,6 +194,7 @@ public class RabbitTemplateTests {
 
 		final AtomicReference<Consumer> consumer = new AtomicReference<Consumer>();
 		doAnswer(new Answer<Object>() {
+
 			@Override
 			public Object answer(InvocationOnMock invocation) throws Throwable {
 				consumer.set((Consumer) invocation.getArguments()[6]);
@@ -224,6 +231,23 @@ public class RabbitTemplateTests {
 		assertEquals(3, count.get());
 	}
 
+	@Test
+	public void testEvaluateDirectReplyToWithConnectException() {
+		org.springframework.amqp.rabbit.connection.ConnectionFactory mockConnectionFactory =
+				mock(org.springframework.amqp.rabbit.connection.ConnectionFactory.class);
+		willThrow(new AmqpConnectException(null)).given(mockConnectionFactory).createConnection();
+		RabbitTemplate template = new RabbitTemplate(mockConnectionFactory);
+
+		try {
+			template.convertSendAndReceive("foo");
+		}
+		catch (Exception ex) {
+			assertThat(ex, instanceOf(AmqpConnectException.class));
+		}
+
+		assertFalse(TestUtils.getPropertyValue(template, "evaluatedFastReplyTo", Boolean.class));
+	}
+
 	@Test
 	public void testRecovery() throws Exception {
 		ConnectionFactory mockConnectionFactory = mock(ConnectionFactory.class);