diff --git a/hl7apy/mllp.py b/hl7apy/mllp.py
index ad54da0..7117423 100644
--- a/hl7apy/mllp.py
+++ b/hl7apy/mllp.py
@@ -95,7 +95,8 @@ def handle(self):
         if message is not None:
             try:
                 response = self._route_message(message)
-            except Exception:
+            except Exception as exc:
+                self._handle_routing_error(exc, message)
                 self.request.close()
             else:
                 # encode the response
@@ -138,6 +139,9 @@ def _create_handler(self, handler_class, msg, args):
     def _create_error_handler(self, handler_class, exc, msg, args):
         return handler_class(exc, msg, *args)
 
+    def _handle_routing_error(self, exc, msg):
+        pass
+
 
 class MLLPServer(ThreadingTCPServer):
     """