diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/couchbase/config/CouchbaseClusterParser.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/couchbase/config/CouchbaseClusterParser.java
index 9c07b0a8..1e78bf08 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/couchbase/config/CouchbaseClusterParser.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/couchbase/config/CouchbaseClusterParser.java
@@ -37,7 +37,8 @@ import org.springframework.util.xml.DomUtils;
  * Such a definition can be tuned by either referencing a {@link CouchbaseEnvironment} via
  * the {@value #CLUSTER_ENVIRONMENT_REF} attribute or define a custom environment inline via
  * the <{@value #CLUSTER_ENVIRONMENT_TAG}> tag (not recommended, environments should be
- * shared as possible).
+ * shared as possible). If no environment reference or inline description is provided, the
+ * default environment reference {@value BeanNames#COUCHBASE_ENV} is used.
  *
  * To bootstrap the connection, one can provide IPs or hostnames of nodes to connect to
  * via 1 or more <{@value #CLUSTER_NODE_TAG}> tags.
@@ -117,6 +118,10 @@ public class CouchbaseClusterParser extends AbstractSingleBeanDefinitionParser {
 		}
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * @return true if a custom environment was parsed and injected (either reference or inline), false if
+	 * the default environment reference was used.
+	 */
 	protected boolean parseEnvironment(BeanDefinitionBuilder clusterBuilder, Element clusterElement) {
 		//any inline environment description would take precedence over a reference
 		Element envElement = DomUtils.getChildElementByTagName(clusterElement, CLUSTER_ENVIRONMENT_TAG);
@@ -131,6 +136,9 @@ public class CouchbaseClusterParser extends AbstractSingleBeanDefinitionParser {
 			injectEnvReference(clusterBuilder, envRef);
 			return true;
 		}
+
+		//if no custom value provided, consider it a reference to the default bean for Couchbase Environment
+		injectEnvReference(clusterBuilder, BeanNames.COUCHBASE_ENV);
 		return false;
 	}
 
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/springframework/data/couchbase/config/CouchbaseClusterParserTest.java b/src/test/java/org/springframework/data/couchbase/config/CouchbaseClusterParserTest.java
index 8283b93c..1cfdcb16 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/springframework/data/couchbase/config/CouchbaseClusterParserTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/springframework/data/couchbase/config/CouchbaseClusterParserTest.java
@@ -54,8 +54,8 @@ public class CouchbaseClusterParserTest {
 	}
 
 	@Test
-	public void testClusterWithNodes() {
-		BeanDefinition def = factory.getBeanDefinition("clusterWithNodes");
+	public void testClusterWithoutSpecificEnv() {
+		BeanDefinition def = factory.getBeanDefinition("clusterDefault");
 
 		assertThat(def, is(notNullValue()));
 		assertThat(def.getConstructorArgumentValues().getArgumentCount(), is(equalTo(1)));
@@ -63,7 +63,25 @@ public class CouchbaseClusterParserTest {
 		assertThat(def.getFactoryMethodName(), is(equalTo("create")));
 
 		ConstructorArgumentValues.ValueHolder holder = def.getConstructorArgumentValues()
-				.getArgumentValue(0, List.class);
+				.getArgumentValue(0, CouchbaseEnvironment.class);
+
+		assertThat(holder.getValue(), instanceOf(RuntimeBeanReference.class));
+		RuntimeBeanReference envRef = (RuntimeBeanReference) holder.getValue();
+
+		assertThat(envRef.getBeanName(), is(equalTo("couchbaseEnv")));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testClusterWithNodes() {
+		BeanDefinition def = factory.getBeanDefinition("clusterWithNodes");
+
+		assertThat(def, is(notNullValue()));
+		assertThat(def.getConstructorArgumentValues().getArgumentCount(), is(equalTo(2)));
+		assertThat(def.getPropertyValues().size(), is(equalTo(0)));
+		assertThat(def.getFactoryMethodName(), is(equalTo("create")));
+
+		ConstructorArgumentValues.ValueHolder holder = def.getConstructorArgumentValues()
+				.getArgumentValue(1, List.class);
 		assertThat(holder.getValue(), is(instanceOf(List.class)));
 		List nodes = (List<String>) holder.getValue();