PG version recommendation

Hi:

I'm going to be requesting a PG instance supported by an IT team in a large
corp. They will be creating the server as a VM. We will be loading the DB
using scripts (perl/dbi) on linux, possibly using bulk loading techniques
if that's required. Queries will come from both linux and the web, but
typically the number of concurrent users will be on the order of 10 reads,
maybe a couple writers. < 1T total disk, no partitioning. I will be
requesting PITR.

I need to pick a PG version in my request. I want something that will be
stable and reliable while, of course, being able to perform well. What
would be a good choice for PG version ?

Also, since the server will be a VM, are there any special
recommendations/suggestions might I forward in the request (install
options, tuning options, other) ?

Thanks !