There are far more factors than age and experience level. If there's "chemistry" and you both feel it, you should just go for it. If by "optimal" we mean "ideal," you probably don't need much experience to know that nothing in real life is ideal. Everything has its pros and cons, everyone has their flaws and, with any luck, some people have redeeming qualities. You have to know that if you are both young, your lives will move in different directions. On the other hand if your first lover is not so young, your lives are moving in different directions no matter what happens.
For example, the first woman I was with was 18 years older than I was at the time. For a variety of reasons, not just her age, I still feel lucky to have been with her. Before I met her, I knew I was open to being with an older woman if I found her attractive. I have to admit that this woman was so beautiful that I hardly noticed she was older than I was. As a result I was able to act natural when we met, or as naturally as a young inexperienced man can act around a good looking woman. However, she almost ruined it, by accident, when she asked me one too many times if I was sure I wanted to sleep with her. That made things awkward because it made me feel all kinds of pressure to prove that I really found her attractive. So there is a drawback right there. But on the plus side, she was patient and once we got over that, we really satisfied each other. All in all, these are good memories and I have a sense of humor about it.
We live in two different states. I was in a transition when I met her. I think it was confusing for both of us because we said we would still talk once in a while, but we never quite got around to having another conversation. After a few weeks she had met someone else and she wanted him to be her whole world, and that was the last I heard from her. I was surprised that she felt this way about someone, because I had been under the impression that she was a progressive single woman in the city who was disillusioned by traditions and played by her own rules. It seemed she had only pretended to be cool or something, which is some immature behavior that is disappointing to see in an older woman. The point is, anyone can be immature at any time. On the other hand, far be it from me to judge anyone, let alone someone I barely knew.
But these details about how it ended are incidental. I think on some level we knew all along that one day we were bound to lose touch no matter what, and she decided it might as well be immediately. I wanted her to know that she could still talk to me, but apparently she didn't believe me. Oh well- easy come, easy go. No harm, no foul. And as Dylan said: If you want me to, I can be just like you, and pretend that we never have touched. But as Dylan also said: If you see her, say hello.