forget about 08. it's the 09 that is supposed to be good. but as the industry as developed over the years, the bordeaux market is very tired about every other vintage being claimed as the 'vintage of the decade/century'. there are many discussion about this in online wine forums; but the general consensus for most consumers they won't really take part in the 09 en primeur as they no longer give you that pricing advantage as much as last time. case in point, there are wine retailers in SG that market their discounted (and some with bottle age) higher end bordeaux at prices that are lower than 'en primeur'.
while i do not doubt the quality of the bordeaux 2009 vintage, the justification for further inflated prices is something i do not agree on. being on a budget, i have my sights on other french regions and other countries. I'm hitting more Loire, Alsace and Rhone wines for France and also sourcing for great wines from the Languedoc that are so much more competitively priced. unless you are a baller rolling in the cash, i will just wait until the 09 prices pop and retailers have to discount them when they realize that they cannot sell it. But all this is just my opinion that i have garnered
3-5 years looks fine. i read a couple of reputed tasting notes. this wine is not really meant for the long haul, due mostly to the 07 being a generally weaker vintage. but still has nice fruit and stylish grip.
Magnums (1.5L) bottles are supposedly better because from what i was told, that through experiments, magnums are the most optimal bottle size for a wine to age. for me it's just too expensive and i don't have space haha....